Chipola defeats TCC men, 87-67

MARIANNA, Fla. (February 9, 2013) – Chipola College outscored Tallahassee Community College, 48-30, in the second half to pull away for an 87-67 win on Saturday evening in Panhandle Conference men's basketball action. 

Tallahassee (12-13, 0-9 PC) lost for the ninth straight time in Panhandle Conference play while Chipola (24-2, 7-2) locked up no worse than a tie for second place in the league standings. 

For the first 20 minutes, the game was up for grabs. The lead swapped hands five times, with neither team leading by more than six. 

Chipola scored the final five points of the half, capped by a three-pointer from Demetrius Floyd just before the buzzer, and led 39-37 at the intermission. 

On the initial possession of the second half, Tallahassee's Marlon Johnson scored in the paint to tie the game at 39-all. From there, it was all Chipola. 

Over the next nine-plus minutes, Chipola outscored Tallahassee, 24-4, including 15 unanswered at one point, to take a 63-43 lead with 10:29 left in the game. During one stretch of more than eight and a half minutes, Tallahassee made only one field goal. 

Jonathan Hood hit a pair of free throws to pull the Eagles within 18 (63-45) at the 9:56 mark of the second half, but that was as close as Tallahassee got the rest of the game. 

The game was slowed by a total of 56 fouls and 66 free throw attempts. Neither side took advantage in the first half – Tallahassee hit only 8-of-16; Chipola, 9-of-17. In the second half, however, Chipola outscored the Eagles from the charity stripe by 11 and hit 15-of-21 overall. Tallahassee made only 4-of-12 and finished the game 12-of-28 overall. 

The Indians also enjoyed a 48-35 advantage on the glass – 17-8 on the offensive end which translated into 16 second chance points. 

C.J. Washington scored 26 points for Tallahassee, to lead all scorers. Curtis Diamond added 19. 

Carlos Morris scored 20 points to pace Chipola. 

Tallahassee will return to action on Saturday, February 16 when it hosts Gulf Coast State College for a 7:30 p.m. tip.