TCC men earn hard-fought victory over Gordon State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (December 29, 2012) – FCSAA No. 10 Tallahassee Community College used a 50-point second half to rally for an 83-71 win over Gordon (Ga.) State College on Saturday evening in the final day of play at the Comfort Inn Holiday Classic. 

With the victory, Tallahassee (12-4) will carry a four-game winning streak into its Panhandle Conference opener at NJCAA No. 3/FCSAA No. 1 Chipola College. 

The host Eagles trailed for much of the first half and went to the locker room looking at a 35-33 deficit. Murray State signee Jarvis Williams (15 points) and Marquis Barnes (14 points) did the majority of the damage for the Highlanders, combining for 29 first-half points.

The defending NJCAA Region 17 champions didn't go away quickly after the intermission. Again led by Williams and Barnes, Gordon State scored eight unanswered points to take a 43-37 lead with 17:51 left in the game. 

After a pair of ties, the last at 48-all at the 14:26 mark, Tallahassee finally began to assert itself. 

Trevor McDade, who scored all but two of his 18 points in the second half, knocked down a three-pointer to give Tallahassee a 58-56 lead with 12 minutes left in the game. 

Alex Andrews followed with a three-pointer of his own, part of what eventually became a 20-4 run that gave the Eagles a 75-60 lead, their largest of the game. 

Barnes' three-pointer with 3:55 remaining ended an almost six-minute drought without a field goal for Gordon State. By that time, however, Tallahassee still enjoyed a comfortable 75-63 lead. 

The Eagles shot 55.9 percent (19-of-34) from the floor in the second half while limiting the Highlanders to just 11-of-30 shooting (36.7 percent). 

Georgia native Curtis Diamond led Tallahassee with 20 points. Fellow Georgian C.J. Washington added 17 and Marlon Johnson tallied 11. 

Williams scored a game-high 29 for Gordon State and Barnes followed with 23 but the rest of the team managed to hit only four of 23 field goal attempts and scored 19 total points. 

Next Saturday's PC opener is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. eastern tip and the game will be carried by Panhandle Sports Broadcasting at www.PSBlive.com. 

In Saturday's first men's game at the Comfort Inn Holiday Classic, East Georgia State College knocked off Florida State College at Jacksonville, 89-76.