On Tuesday night, #14 Chipola (13-4, 8-3 PC) traveled to #8 Tallahassee Community College (14-2, 8-2 PC) in a matchup between the top two teams in the Panhandle Conference. Despite shooting 59.2 percent from the floor, the Indians fell to the Eagles, 78-75.
The Eagles were able to jump ahead early in the game and led by as many as twelve midway through the first half. Chipola ended the half on a 17-6 run, cutting the deficit to one as the teams went to the locker room with Tallahassee leading 37-36.
Battling early foul trouble, the Indians relied on their depth, with seven players contributing off the bench for 20 points.
Chipola took the lead early in the second half and held on until the Eagles' Tyler Poindexter hit a three to put the Indians up by one with ten minutes remaining.
The remainder of the game was back and forth with four ties and eleven lead changes with the Eagles pushing the lead to four in the final seconds.
After Jaeden Zackery made the first of two free throws, the Indians were able to reel in the offensive rebound on the missed second shot. Following a timeout with :08 remaining on the clock, Zackery's three-point attempt came up short giving the Eagles the 2-1 season series lead.
Nae'qwan Tomlinson recorded a season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
Carlos Lemus finished the game with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Naheem Mcleod recorded his second game in double digits, scoring 10 points.
Chipola will host Northwest Florida State College Saturday at 4 PM.
From Caoch Tyndall
"We competed hard for 40 minutes but it really came down to two things: we could not contain Ellis once again and we had too many turnovers. You can't beat quality opponents, especially on the road, turning it over 22 times."
Team Notes
- Nae'qwan Tomlinson's career-high (23) came on 100 percent shooting from the perimeter
- Chipola Basketball ended their 7-game winning streak, but will play at home Saturday where they are 9-0 this season.
- This was the first time the Indians lost shooting above 25 percent from three, they shot 40 percent in this game.