Chipola men outlast Tallahassee in OT

With both teams sitting at 2-2 in Panhandle Conference play, Chipola and Tallahassee were both needing a win to keep from falling further in the standings. Although it took an extra period, the Indians prevailed on the road, defeating the Eagles 63-59, and improved to 18-4 overall and 3-2 in conference.

The Eagles were able to move out to an eight point lead as both teams struggled to score in the physical first half. In the final minutes before the break, the Indians managed to chip away at the lead. With just over two minutes left before halftime, Nae'Qwan Tomlin hit two free throws to give Chipola their first lead of the game at 23-22.

Right before the buzzer, Carlos Lemus tossed an alley-oop pass to Tomlin, who slammed it home to give the Indians a 28-25 lead going into intermission.

Chipola held the lead much of the second half and went up by as many as six. They could not shake the Eagles, however. With four minutes remaining in the game, Tallahassee tied the score at 45-45 on a Mike Isler lay-up, his only field goal of regulation.

Throughout the remainder of the game, the Indians led two different times but could not seal the win. With 11.7 seconds remaining and Chipola leading by one, the Eagles went to the line with a chance to take the lead. After making the first free throw, the Eagles missed the second but were able to reel in the rebound. With five seconds remaining in the game, an errant pass went out of bounds, giving the Indians the ball in front of the Eagles bench with a chance to win the game.  

Following a Chipola timeout, Nae'Qwan Tomlin received the inbound pass at midcourt and handed it off to Lance Erving. Erving drove the ball to the right side of the goal but his 8 foot jumper came up short.

Chipola started off the overtime period with Dontae Walker hitting a three point shot in front of the Chipola bench. The Indians held the lead until midway through the overtime period when the Eagles made two free throws to go ahead 56-55, with 2:37 remaining.

The Indians would close with an 8-3 run, however, that would give Chipola the 63-59 win. The big play in overtime came with the Indians up one with 1:57 left to play. Nae'Qwan Tomlin took an Eagles' turnover the length of the floor for a layup and was fouled. Tomlin sunk the "and one" to give the Indians all they would need to put away the Eagles.

Faizon Fields led the Indians with 18 points. Dontae Walker added 15, all coming in the second half or overtime. Nae'Qwan Tomlin contributed 14.

Chipola will host #3 Northwest Florida on Saturday night at 7:30.