MARIANNA, Fla. – The Chipola men's basketball team cruised to a 97-34 win over Enterprise State (2-6) at The Milt on Saturday night.
The #2 Indians (16-0), who were making their first appearance back at The Milt since November 26, never trailed in the game and gave themselves the opportunity to take over the No. 1 ranking in the NJCAA.
Deyton Albury, Derrick Butler, and JC Curry got the Indians off to a hot start with shots from long range to help build an early 9-2 lead.
The Indians hit 16 three-point baskets in the game, the most since the 2019-2020 team made 17 shots from beyond the arc in an 84-62 win over Palm Beach State College on November 24, 2019.
The first half ended with Chipola firmly in front, 53-20. Chipola scorched the nets with a 54.1 shooting percentage while holding the Boll Weevils to just 7-of-31 (22.6 percent) from the floor.
Chipola grew its lead in the second half with a stifling defense.
The Boll Weevils were held to just six made baskets in the second half and were 0-for-11 from three-point range.
Zach Bell and Cliff Davis led the Indians with 17 points followed by Jamil Safieddine with 14.
Derrick Butler and Paul Greene picked up double-doubles with both players scoring 11 points. Greene came away with 12 rebounds while Butler hauled in 11.
UP NEXT
Chipola will break for the holidays before returning to practice the day after Christmas. The Indians will play on the campus of Gulf Coast State College in the Visit Panama City Beach Tournament on December 30-31. Tournament Schedule
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The College of Southern Idaho, the #4 team in the latest NJCAA Rankings, defeated the #1 Bruins from Salt Lake City Community College. The Indians have not been ranked first in the NJCAA since Greg Heiar's 2007 squad was at the top of the poll for ten straight weeks. THe Chipola men will have to wait, however, and win a couple more games. The next poll does not come out until after the first of the year.
The Indians are back to the #1 slot in the Massey Rankings.
NEXT HOME GAME
The Indians will begin Panhandle Conference play on January 7, 2023 when they host the Raiders of Northwest Florida. The women's game will tip at 5:30 on that Saturday afternoon with the men's game to follow at 7:30.
STAY CONNECTED
For information and live in-game updates, check out Chipola Men's Basketball on Twitter: @ChipolaHoops. Stay up to date with all Chipola Athletic Events at www.ChipolaAthletics.com, Twitter - @ChipolaNation, and Facebook - ChipolaAthletics.