Gameday Preview: #9 Indians take on #24 Cape Fear in Hutch

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The #9 seed Chipola Indians (28-4) will make their third consecutive appearance in the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament today at noon out in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Indians are making the college's 18^th overall appearance and hope to bring home that elusive National Championship.

Chipola has played in the title game twice and made it to the semifinals multiple times, including the last two seasons, but the Indians are still looking to bring the championship trophy back to Marianna.

Coach Donnie Tyndall's squad opens the tournament with the #24 seed Cape Fear Community College from North Carolina. The Sea Devils (15-13) are making their 6^th overall appearance in Hutch and first since 2019.

The winner of today's game will face the #8 seed, Midland College Chaparrals, on Tuesday at 4:30 PM.

Tournament Links

Tournament Website

Live Stream ($)

Live Stats and Tournament Results

Tournament Bracket

Tickets

Tournament History

Chipola Men's Basketball on Twitter

Chipola Athletics on Facebook

Know Your Opponent

• The Sea Devils advanced to the National Tournament from the Atlantic District by defeating Brunswick Community College in the Region 10 Championship, 85-65.
• Cape Fear hosted the Region 10 tournament and was the #4 seed. The Sea Devils upset the #1 seed Caldwell Tech in the semifinals.
• The Sea Devils started the 2022-2023 season by losing its first four games. They are currently on a four-game winning streak and won nine of their last ten games.
• The Sea Devils and the Indians have a common opponent from this season, Monroe College, who is also in the National Tournament and seeded 16^th. Cape Fear lost to the Mustangs twice this season, 90-72 on November 5 in Petersburg, VA and 96-80 on December 18 in Bolivia, NC. The Indians defeated then 8^th ranked Mustangs, 72-62, on December 4 in Tallahassee.
• Leading Scorer: Keishon Porter (Sophomore) 6'4, 190 pound guard from Macclesfield, NC. Porter averages 14.6 points per game and has started all 28 games for the Sea Devils. He transferred from Radford University where he played in 15 games as a freshman in 2020-21 and averaged 2.1 points per game. Porter redshirted at Cape Fear in 2021-22.
• Leading Rebounder: Daniel Ransom (Sophomore) 6'5 214 pound forward from Charlotte, NC. Averaging 9.5 boards per game, Ransom has been the presence for the Sea Devils in the paint. He is also the team's second-leading scorer at 13.5 points per game. Ransom transferred from Western Carolina University where he averaged 4.9 points in 16 games played in a COVID redshirt 2020-2021 season. Last season for the Sea Devils, Ransom averaged 7.2 ppg and led the team in rebounds with 7.2 per game.

 Chipola Notes

• Chipola advanced to the National Tournament with an at-large bid after falling in the semifinals of the Region VIII tournament.
• Chipola is tied for 6^th overall in National Tournament appearances with 18. The Indians have the most appearances in Hutch without having won the championship.
• The Indians' only losses this season have come to Panhandle Conference opponents on their home floor. Although Chipola was technically the home team in their last loss to Northwest Florida, the game was played in Raider Arena in Niceville.
• Four players on Chipola's roster have experience playing at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Deyton Albury, Cliff Davis, Jamil Safieddine, and Jatarion Warren were members of the 2021-2022 team that advanced to the final four.
• In three seasons at the helm of the Indians, head coach Donnie Tyndall has brought Chipola to Hutch each year. This is the first time in his tenure and second time in school history that Chipola received an at-large bid to the tournament.