MARIANNA, Fla. – Round two is tonight at the Milton H. Johnson Center when the #8 Chipola Indians host the #5 Northwest Florida Raiders. Tip-off between the two rivals will follow the women's game at approximately 7:30.

Round one goes to the Indians

Although the Raiders led by as many as thirteen in the second half, Chipola battled back to even the score and had a chance to win at the buzzer. An off-balance three by Sami Pissis hit off the front of the rim to send the game into overtime with the scored tied, 67-67.

After the Raiders opened the scoring in the extra period on a 6-0, Chipola scored the last nine points to take the 76-73 win and give the Indians a one-game advantage in the Panhandle Conference stadings.

Chipola atop the conference standings

Tonight begins the second round of Panhandle play with Pensacola traveling to Gulf Coast and TCC enjoying the night off.

By virtue of the Indians' win over the Raiders on January 13, the Indians hold a one game advantage in the standings. Gulf Coast is in third with a 2-2 record followed by Tallahassee at 1-3. Pensacola sits at the bottom with a 0-4 record.

Nationally ranked programs

Both teams have been ranked in the NJCAA rankings with Northwest Florida starting the season at #1. The Raiders fell in the rankings after losing to Daytona State, 85-79, on November 28 at home.

After starting the preseason at #11, Chipola reached the #5 position but fell at the FCSAA Shootout to Indian River to tumble down the poll.

When the two teams faced one another in January, NWF was ranked 3^rd and Chipola 14^th. The Indians jumped one spot ahead of the Raiders at 7th after their head-to-head win.

The Indians reached the #4 slot in the poll but following their loss on the road to Georgia Highlands last week, they fell into a tie for 8^th in this week's poll.

The Raiders rejoined the Top Five this week following single-digit wins over Pensacola and Gulf Coast.

GAME NOTES

• Under head coach Donnie Tyndall, the Indians are 10-3 against the Raiders.
• The two teams shared the Panhandle Conference title a season ago with Tallahassee Community College. All three teams finished the season with a 9-3 conference record with their only losses coming to one another.
• A season ago, Chipola edged out the Raiders in the regular season, winning two of three games. The Raiders evened the record with their win in the State Tournament. In the four games, the widest margin of victory was ten points.
• Chipola and Northwest Florida have won five of the last six FCSAA/Region VIII Championships.
• The Indians have won 29 consecutive games at The Milt dating back to the final home game of the 2021-2022 season.
• The last time the Raiders defeated Chipola in Marianna was January 30, 2019 when they escaped with an 86-82 victory.

STAY CONNECTED

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