The Chipola men's basketball team used a strong second half to pull away from the Tigers of Marion Military Institute in their first game of the Milton Johnson Classic. The Indians defeated MMI, 86-46, and moved their record to 2-0 on the season.
Chipola struggled to shake the Tigers in the first half but used a strong defensive effort to take an early. Although shots weren't falling early, the Indians took a 36-27 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Indians flexed their muscle on the Tigers. A 28-3 run in the first ten minutes sealed the Tigers fate. With just over five minutes remaining in the game, Faizon Fields gave the Indians their biggest lead of the night, 77-35, on a putback slam.
The Indians finished the game with three players in double digits. Nae'Qwan Tomlin led the Indians with 16 points while Achor Achor and Cliff Davis both contributed 14.
"I thought that we defended pretty well tonight overall," said head coach Donnie Tyndall. "I was pleased with our defense but offensively especially in the first half I thought we played tentatively and we were not as aggressive as we need to be. We did a better job with that in the second half but certainly need to continue to improve on taking care of the basketball."
On Saturday, the Indians will take on Southwest Tennessee Community College in a game that will feature two teams that played in Hutchinson, Kansas, a season ago at the NJCAA National Tournament. Both teams lost to the eventual National Champion, Coffeyville Community College, with the Saulqis losing in the opening round, and the Indians losing in the semifinals.
The Saluqis lost 80-66 in the first game of the evening to Southwest Mississippi Community College. Chipola (2-0) and Southwest Tennessee (1-1) will face off beginning at 3 PM at the Milton Johnson Center. The Indians will be looking to continue their undefeated season and to up their home win streak which now stands at 18.
Prior to the Indians-Saluqis game, Southwest Mississippi (3-0) will also look to remain undefeated when they take on Marion Military Institute (0-1) at 1 PM.