Indians take down Northwest Florida, 79-67

The #14 Chipola men's basketball team (#2 FCSAA/Region 8) moved one step closer to securing their berth in the FCSAA/Region 8 Tournament defeating Northwest Florida State College, 79-67.

The Indians started slow in the Saturday matinee game shooting only 39.1 percent in the first half. Meanwhile the Raiders were 11-of-25 in the first half (44 percent). For the second consecutive time this season, the Indians would trail the Raiders going into the locker room with Northwest Florida holding a 33-30 advantage.

The Indians came out in the second half and took control just as they had done when the two teams met in Niceville two weeks prior. Chipola started the half on a 20-1 run and led by as many as eighteen with two minutes remaining in the game.

Chipola used a strong presence on the boards to take over the game. The Indians outrebounded the Raiders 37-23, holding Northwest Florida to just nine boards in the second half. Jo Smith and Carlos Lemus led the way with seven rebounds each for the Indians.

Carlos Lemus turned in another double digit performance, scoring 14 points. Lemus has now scored double figures in 13 of the Indians' 18 games this season and leads the team in points per game with 12.5.

Three other players also had double figure performances. Nae'qwan Tomlin poured in 12 and both B.J. Comer and Naheem McLeod matched their season-high outputs with 10.

The Indians are now 14-4 overall and 9-3 in Panhandle Conference play. 

Chipola's next game will be Wednesday night at 7:30 against Gulf Coast State College at The Milt.

From Coach Tyndall

"I thought we were much better defensively in the second half and I liked the way that we shared the ball. Offensively, we had 18 assists on 30 buckets. I was happy with B.J. Comer tonight. He's continuing to improve each and every game. I thought Jo Smith did some good things coming off the bench as well."

Team Notes

• The Indians moved to 10-0 at home this season and have a 13-game home winning streak dating back to last season
• For the third consecutive game, the Indians shot above 50 percent. Chipola was 30-of-56 against the Raiders for 53.6 percent.
• Chipola and Gulf Coast will meet for the fourth time this season on Wednesday. After losing the first time the teams met, the Indians have defeated the Commodores in the most recent two games.