#14 Indians fall in Panhandle Conference Opener at Pensacola

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Despite out-shooting Pensacola State on the Pirates' home floor on Saturday afternoon, the Indians dropped their Panhandle Conference opener, 62-50, to fall to 15-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Chipola will look to rebound on Wednesday night when they host Gulf Coast State College at the Milton H. Johnson Center. Tip between the two rivals will follow the women's game at approximately 7:30 PM.

Statistically even

The numbers in the game on Saturday were pretty close to even except on the scoreboard.

For the game, Chipola was 21-of-45 (46.7%) from the floor to Pensacola's 22-of-48 (45.8%). Both teams made the same percentage of their shots from outside the arc, 30.8%, and turnovers were close to balance with the Indians committing 12 while forcing 11 from the Pirates.

Uneven statistics prove the difference

Although the two teams shot the same percentage from three-point range, the Pirates took twice as many shots from outside and connected on twice as many. Pensacola had eight long-range shots compared to Chipola's four resulting in a 12-point difference, which happened to be the difference in the final score.

Another 12-point difference could be found in the Indians' shooting from the free throw line. Chipola chose a bad day to have a bad day at the line. The Indians' missed 12 opportunities, 4-of-16 (25%), from the charity stripe while the Pirates made 10-of-15 (66.7%). It was Chipola's worst performance at the line since shooting just 2-of-9 in last season's State Championship game, which Chipola won 50-48 over Northwest Florida.

This time, however, 50 points on the scoreboard would not be enough as the Pirates withstood a Chipola barrage to start the second half and took the 62-50 win.

Early second half run disappears

The Indians started slowly in Hartsell Arena and fought uphill the entire first half. After the Pirates scored the first three points of the game, sophomore Grace Aluma hit the first of his two first-half three-pointers to tie the game.

The Pirates then used three consecutive shots from long-range to go on a 13-2 run before Chipola responded with a 9-0 run of its own to cut the Pirates' lead to 16-14.

Two more shots from behind the arc by the Pirates pushed the lead back out to eight but once again Chipola responded by outscoring Pensacola 12-7 to close out the half and trailing 27-24 at the break.

Chipola Nation has watched as their team, during head coach Donnie Tyndall's tenure, would come out of the locker room and begin the second half with a huge rally to comeback from a deficit or build a lead. Saturday was no different.

Tyndall's squad quickly took away the Pirates' lead by scoring the first six points and forcing Pensacola head coach Pete Pena to use an early timeout. That first timeout of the second half, which turns into a media timeout, seemed to take all the momentum away from the Indians.

Pensacola came out of the timeout and went on a 10-2 run, which included two more three-point buckets, to build their lead back out to five.

Matthew Webster cut into the Pirates' lead with just his third three-pointer of the season and started an 8-4 run by Chipola to pull within one at 43-42 with just over ten minutes remaining in the game.

Then Indians would not be able to overcome the Pirates, however, as Pensacola finished the game outscoring Chipola, 19-8, to get their first win in a conference opener since the 2019-2020 season.

Notes

• After winning five straight times against Pensacola inside Hartsell Arena, Chipola has dropped back-to-back games on the Pirates' home floor. The Indians lost in their only trip to Pensacola last season, 56-54.
• The Indians are now 2-2 inside Hartsell Arena this season. Chipola won two of three games in the Pensacola State Thanksgiving Classic back on November 25-27.
• Sophomore Grace Aluma followed his 11-point performance with 10 points to lead the Indians against the Pirates. It was his third double-digit output of his Chipola career.
• In the 62-50 loss, Chipola was held to its lowest point total of the season. Although the Indians won a pair of games last season when they scored 50 or less, Saturday's output was the lowest in a loss since the 2021-2022 season.
• When the Indians have scored 61 points or more this season, they are 14-0. Chipola defeated Central Georgia Tech, 60-52, earlier this season for their other win.