MARIANNA, Fla. – Tonight, the Chipola Indians (27-3) continue their quest for a third consecutive State Championship and third consecutive NJCAA Tournament appearance when they take on Miami-Dade at Raider Arena in Niceville. Tip off between the Indians and the Sharks in round one of the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament is set for 6 PM.

Tournament Links:

• Tournament Website
• Live Stream
• Radio Broadcast – 94.1 FM
• Region VIII Tournament on Twitter
• MBB Tournament Bracket
• Tournament Program

Coach Donnie Tyndall's squad enters the tournament as the number one seed and the number six team in the final NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings.

Miami-Dade (17-13) comes into the tournament as the number eight seed after finishing in third place in the Southern Conference. The Sharks are led in scoring by freshman forward, Tyriek Weeks, who averages 14.5 points per game.

Stephen Augustine, a former Chipola Indian, has averaged 4.9 points per game for Miami-Dade in 22 games this season.

Chipola and Miami-Dade last faced one another on the hardwood in a Thanksgiving tournament at the College of Central Florida back on November 29, 2019. The Indians defeated the Sharks, 103-94.

Tournament Notes

• Chipola and Miami-Dade have combined to win 21 State Championships. Chipola is the two-time defending champion and has won more titles than any other school with 17. The Sharks have won four championships with their last title coming in 1984.
• There are two other teams representing the Panhandle Conference in this year's State Tournament. Tallahassee (26-4) comes in as the number three seed and will face six seed Florida SouthWestern (20-8) at 3 PM on Thursday. The number four seed, Northwest Florida (23-7), will take on the five seed Indian River State College (24-6), runner-up of the last two championships, at 8 PM.
• Teams from the Panhandle Conference have won the FCSAA/Region VIII Men's Tournament the last five years.
• Four teams in this year's tournament are ranked in the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings and the top three seeds are in the top ten. Chipola, Tallahassee, and Daytona are ranked 6^th-8^th with Northwest Florida ranked 16^th. Indian River and Florida SouthWestern are also receiving votes in the final regular season rankings.

Chipola is 4-3 against teams in this year's tournament. The Indians split were 3-3 against the other two Panhandle teams in the tournament and won on a three-pointer at the buzzer against Florida SouthWestern.