Bradenton, Fla - Last season, the SCF basketball team hosted the inaugural Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic and were co-champions with Indian River State. Today, the Manatees (5-4) once again became co-champions again with the Pioneers (8-1) as they defeated Gordon State College (6-3) 83-74 on Thanksgiving Thursday and Georgia Highlands (2-7) 91-77 on Friday. With the sweep, the Manatees are now 2-0 against the Highlanders and 3-0 against the Chargers.
"I thought the one thing we learned from both games is that they were both different," said head coach Tom Parks. "I think that now at this point of the year, we're still trying to figure out how to win and we've done a good job the last five games on learning how to win. Not saying the game of basketball is great, but I thought these were really where we took steps in the right direction, in terms of our growth, learning how to win together and get stops down the stretch, so it was a great learning experience playing against two teams from a good region."
SCF vs Gordon State:
Four seasons ago, on December 14, 2018, the SCF basketball team and Gordon State College had their first meeting together at Hal Chasey Gymnasium in which SCF was victorious winning by a score of 76-72. Their game was considered a rematch.
Prior to the SCF's game, Polk State (4-3) defeated Georgia Highlands (2-6) 64-55 in the opening game of the classic
In the first half, it would be a back and forth dog fight in ties and lead changes with sophomore Ronnail Tape leading part of the path offensively. In the end, the Highlanders would take the first half 44-43.
In the second half, things started going on the side of the Manatees with Tape's shooting and Ijeh's blocking as they sealed the deal for the win.
"I thought we played really well," said freshman Josh Ijeh. "We started off a bit slow, but we got there in the end and finished the game off well.
"We played a solid game tonight," said sophomore Cobey Harraway. "There's a lot of things we need to continue to clean up and get better at, specifically on the defensive side of things. Right now, we're just taking it one game at a time and try to improve with every game. Overall, I think we rebounded really well today and we made some great defensive plays in the last stretch of the game."
Five Manatees scored in double figures. It was Tape that lead the offense for the Manatees as he finished with a career-high 16 points (6-for-10 FG, 1-for-4 3PT, 3-for-6 FT) and eight rebounds. Sophomore Skylar Wicks would follow with 15 points (5-for-13 FG, 5-for-5 FT), six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while freshman Kasheem Grady added 12 points (5-for-12 FG, 2-for-8 3PT), three rebounds, two assists and a block.
Harraway would add 11 points (5-for-11 FG, 1-for-4 3PT), seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, while sophomore Isaiah 'Ziggy' Josue rounded out the order with 10 points (5-for-8 FG), seven rebounds and five assists.
"I feel like I had a solid game," said Harraway on his game. "I was just trying to affect the game in any way I could on both ends of the floor. The other team was really focused on trying to take me away offensively so I was trying to get my teammates involved as much as possible."
Defensively, Ijeh and freshman Dreseasn Knight each had four rebounds. Ijeh added three points and two blocks, while Knight added four points and three blocks.
"I thought I played decent," said Ijeh on his game. "I got some rebounds and blocks, but I have to make sure to stay out of foul trouble.
Sophomore Ametri Moss (two points, one rebound and two assists), redshirt freshman Zach Smith (three rebounds and two assists) and freshmen Malyk Rebetez (seven points, five rebounds and three assists) and Elijah Terry (four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal) also contributed in the game.
SCF vs Georgia Highlands:
Last season, the Manatees played Georgia Highlands twice and won both games by three points (85-82 at Georgia Highlands; 75-72 at SCF Thanksgiving Classic).
Prior to SCF playing, Indian River State (7-1) defeated Gordon State College (5-3) by a score of 122-72.
The first half belonged primarily to the Chargers as they continuously shot the hot hand from the 3-point line and being up by as much as 32 points, but after a couple of adjustments and strong rebounding from Terry, and sophomores Skylar Wicks and Cobey Harraway, the Manatees were able to cut the deficit to 21 and finish the first half 47-26 in favor of the Chargers.
At the start of the second half, Wicks, Harraway and Rebetez would light up the beginning of the Manatees' offense with a 17-0 run the first five minutes in. Meanwhile, Wicks and Harraway continued to lead offense by hitting three after three while Wicks played a more defensive role on top of his offense to cut the Chargers lead to six before they called a timeout.
After the timeout, the Manatees continued adding more points as Terry would bring a putback basket off of a Rebetez miss before the Chargers scored their first points of the second half, but the Manatees continued taking advantage of forced turnovers on the Chargers before Wick tied the game at 55 apiece with a 3-pointer.
The Manatees would finally take their first lead of the half as the transfer from Missouri State would hit another 3-pointer before the Chargers tied the game at 61 apiece before a media timeout.
Key defense plays from Wicks, Tape and Ijeh helped the Manatees regain the lead with free throws and a mid-range jumper by Wicks before an and-one from Tape extended the lead to three. Wicks, Harraway and Josue would then extended it to double digits before it became smoothing sailing for the Manatees for the win.
"I feel like the team started out slow in the beginning," sais Tape. "But after that, we didn't give up, picked up the tempo and pushed back for the win. It feels good to play unfamiliar teams that aren’t in our region. Playing on our home court for a national holiday is definitely a bonus and since we’re hosting the tournament I feel like it’s a must win situation.
"As a team overall we just competed," said Terry. "We never put our heads down the entire time. Going into halftime we had no doubt we were still in the game! Just finished the game plan."
Three Manatees lead the offense, but it was once again Wicks that would lead the way as he finished with a new career-high 36 points (11-for-23 FG, 5-for-9 3PT, 9-for-13 FT), seven rebounds, four assists and a career-high seven steals.
Harraway would follow with 18 points (5-for-10 FG, 4-for-7 3PT, 4-for-5 FT), two rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Josue rounded out the order with 10 points (3-for-11 FG, 1-for-3 FT, 3-for-6 FT), five rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Terry would add nine points (4-for-5 FG, 1-for-2 FT), six rebounds and one steal, while Ijeh had six rebounds to go along with four points, one steal and three blocks.
"I just brought the energy my team needed to get going and I just let the rest play out," said Terry.
Despite being held to three points, one rebound, one steal and two assists, Tape played his most aggressive side of defense.
"I feel like I had a slow game offensively," said Tape. "But I helped us push back by being solid and aggressive on the defensive and rebounding side."
Moss (four points, three rebounds and one assist), Rebetez (two points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal), Grady (four points and two rebounds), Knight (three rebounds and a block) and Smith (one point) also contributed in the game.
On the final day of the classic, Indian River defeated Georgia Highlands 94-72 before Gordon State defeated Polk State 88-80 in overtime to close it.
Final Thanksgiving Classic Standings:
1. SCF (2-0)
2. Indian River State (2-0)
3. Polk State (1-1)
4. Gordon State (1-1)
5. Georgia Highlands (0-2)
At the end of the tournament, Parks announced the All-Florida vs Georgia Thanksgiving Classic Team on Monday where it was separated into two teams.
Hillsborough (8-1) defeated St. Pete College (2-7) 86-71 in St. Pete. The Hawks will take on RAAD Sports Elite Post Grad Wednesday, November 30 at 7 pm.
The Manatees are back on the road as they travel to St. Pete to take on St. Pete College Wednesday night, November 30 at 7 pm.
