#7 Indians begin quest to defend their state title

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The #7 Indians will open the 2022 FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament on Wednesday at 1 PM with Polk State College (19-9).

Chipola, the Panhandle Conference Champions, come into the tournament as the #2 seed and will face the 7th-seeded Eagles. Polk State finished the season in third in the Central Conference and received an at-large bid to the tournament.

The Indians, winners of eight of their last nine games, are looking to repeat as champions and make back-to-back trips to Hutchinson, Kansas, on March 14-19 for the NJCAA National Tournament.

The Eagles are led by a trio of sophomores who were all First Team All Central Conference Players.

• Freddie Word, from Lehigh Acres, Florida, is averaging 13.4 ppg and shooting 50.5 % from the floor. He is a transfer from Allen County Community College where he was an All-Conference player.
• Tommie Lewis, from Gifford, Florida, averages 13.2 points per game. He is the Eagles' biggest threat from three-point range, shooting 42.4 % from beyond the arc.
• Keenon Cole is averaging 11.2 points per game. The Streamwood, Illinois native transferred to Polk State after playing two years at Northern Illinois University. Cole has scored double digits in his last six games, including a 26-point game on February 16 at Daytona State.

The winner of Wednesday's game will play in the semifinals on Friday at 1 PM against the winner of 3 seed, Northwest Florida State College, and 6 seed, Eastern Florida State College.