Indians fight off Commodores to reach state semi-finals

The number one seed Chipola Indians took down a pesky Gulf Coast State team in the opening round of the FCSAA State Tournament, 84-58. The Indians moved to 19-4 on the season and will play in the semifinals on Friday night at 8 PM.

The Indians held the Commodores to just 4-of-28 (14.3%) shooting in the first half on their way to a 38-19 lead at halftime. The teams were locked 4-4 for more than three minutes in the early going of the first half. Dontae Walker put the Indians ahead with 14:14 remaining in the half making one of two free throws. The Indians would not give up the lead the rest of the way.

Sophomore guard, Lance Erving, pushed the Indians out to their 19 point halftime lead making 5-of-7 shots including three buckets from behind the three-point line

The Commodores opened up the half on a 17-4 run that saw the Indians' lead get cut to six. The Indians were held scoreless for nearly three minutes in the second half which was reminiscent of the first game between the two teams when the Commodores used a strong second half surge to defeat the Indians. Chipola's growth and maturity since that first conference game was evident as the Indians fought off the charge from the Commodores and quickly pushed the lead back out to ten.

Gulf Coast was not gone fighting, however. Once again the Commodores cut the lead to six and with twelve minutes remaining in the game, it was beginning to look like this game may go down to the wire.

Holding on to a 46-40 lead, the Indians held the Commodores scoreless for more than three minutes as they built their lead back up to fifteen, 55-40.

From there, Chipola was able to exert their will on the Commodores and led by as many as 31 before taking the 84-58 win.

Nae'qwan Tomlin led all scorers on the night with 16 points. Tomlin has scored in double figures in eight of his last nine games.

Four other Indians chipped in with double-figure point totals. Lance Erving shot fifty percent from the floor including a trio of three-point baskets to tally 13 on the night. 

Naheem "Duke" McLeod scored a season-high 11 points, making every basket he attempted on the night. 

Jaeden Zackery and Dontae Walker each poured in 10.

The Indians move on to face the number four seed Eastern Florida State College on Friday night at 8 PM from Raider Arena in Niceville.

From Coach Tyndall

"First of all, give Gulf Coast credit. Their team always plays hard. We've had some tough games with them all season long. I thought we really defended well in the first half. The second half, they made a run. They started being aggressive in their press and we got a little bit on our heels. You started to see our team be a little bit like we were early in the season - playing not to lose rather than playing to win. I think it's a sign of growth and maturity that our team played through that."

Game Notes

• Chipola used back-to-back-to back "old-fashioned" three point plays to held build their second half lead back up. Naheem McLeod, Jaeden Zackery, and Carlos Lemus were fouled on made layup attempts and all three players converted on their foul shots on consecutive trips down the court. 
• The Indians won four of five games against the Commodores this season. After dropping the first meeting between the two teams on a three-pointer in the final seconds, the Indians defeated Gulf Coast by an average of 24.5 points.
• Shayeon Davis made back to back threes to reach a personal season-high of 6 points.
• The Indians held the Commodores to 28.3 percent shooting for the game. 
• Chipola outscored Gulf Coast 48-16 in the paint.