Eagles open preseason practice, host jamborees Saturday & Sunday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 1, 2015) – Tallahassee Community College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams opened preseason practice on Thursday, the NJCAA’s official start date for the 2015-16 season. 

Both teams will open the regular season with road games Friday, October 30. 

Before the regular season openers, however, both squads will warm up with a series of scrimmages beginning with its annual jamboree events on Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4.

The Eagle men, under first-year head coach Mark White, will tip things off on Saturday by hosting the Southeastern Jamboree, which will feature 18 of the top NJCAA men’s basketball teams in the Southeast.

One of the premiere jamboree events in the country, the Southeastern Jamboree will feature teams from Florida and Georgia, all of whom will play in front of coaches representing a who’s who of four-year schools nationwide. Each of the 18 teams will play three games, which consists of two 23-minutes halves with a running clock.

Three games will be played simultaneously, starting on the hour, beginning at 10 a.m. The Eagles’ first action comes at 11 a.m. against 2015 NJCAA Tournament participant and Region 8 Runners-up Eastern Florida State College. Tallahassee will also play at 2 p.m. vs. Palm Beach State College and 4 p.m. vs. State College of Florida.

The following day, the women will take center stage in the Southern Challenge Jamboree. Head coach Franqua “Q” Bedell and the Eagles will welcome 19 other teams from Florida, Georgia and Mississippi for a day full of games beginning at 9 a.m.

Sunday’s games will also be the first opportunity for women’s teams to implement several new rules in live action, most notably a shift from two 20-minute halves to four ten-minute quarters.

The Eagles will split their squad into two teams and, thus, play a total of six games beginning at 10 a.m. vs. East Central (Miss.) Community College. Other games featuring Tallahassee will take place at noon vs. Miami Dade College, 2 p.m. vs. Hillsborough Community College, 4 p.m. vs. Central Georgia Technical College, 6 p.m. vs. South Georgia Technical College and 8 p.m. vs. Ft. Benning (Ga.) Military Academy.

All games both days will take place in the Bill Hebrock Eagledome and the Lifetime Sports Complex.

General admission is $10.