Tallahassee men set for first home game with return of Tip-Off Classic

By James Harden
TCC Sports Information

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  (November 8, 2013) – Usually, the Tallahassee Community College men's basketball team opens up the season with a pair of home games by hosting the TCC Tip-Off Classic on campus in the Bill Hebrock Eagledome.

The 2013-14 basketball season tipped off a bit differently. That's because a big football game between rivals Florida State University and the University of Miami (Fla.) was scheduled in Tallahassee for the first weekend in November. School officials decided to push back the first home game a week to avoid any issues that may have presented themselves as a result of the gridiron collision between the Seminoles and Hurricanes.

Now that the streets of Tallahassee are clear and back to normal, the Eagles have invited fellow Region 8 foe Santa Fe College and two Region 22 schools, Marion (Ala.) Military Institute and Faulkner State (Ala.) Community College, to come out and compete in the annual Tip-Off Classic.

Having now taken over sole possession of the No. 3 spot in the Florida College System Activities Association's (FCSAA) Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll and coming in ranked No. 23 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Men's Basketball Poll, Tallahassee will play Marion at 8 p.m., Friday, November 8 and then take on Faulkner State at 4 p.m., Saturday, November 9.

The Marion Military Tigers are 1-0, sporting a 96-79 victory over Enterprise State (Ala.) Community College earlier this week. In his first year as head coach of the Tigers, Phillip Stitt is looking to pull out an even bigger win against the Eagles. That task may prove to be harder than advertised as Tallahassee leads the series of head to head match-ups 2-0. In fact, the last time the two teams played, Tallahassee won convincingly, beating the Tigers 83-52 last season.

After Marion, the Eagles will lace up their sneakers and take the court against the Sun Chiefs of Faulkner State the following day. The Sun Chiefs are 2-1, having recently been in a dog fight against Pensacola Christian College before winning 76-74 in overtime.

Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the schools, although Tallahassee head coach Eddie Barnes and his Faulkner State counterpart, Jack Robertson, met numerous times when Barnes was at Wallace Community College-Dothan (Ala.).

Following the games both days, fans are invited to attend the Postgame Party with the Eagles served by Applebee's. This weekend's postgame party will take place at Applebee's located at 1400 Village Square Blvd., just north of I-10 on Thomasville Road. 

Fans who bring a game program to the store will receive 10% off any full-price menu item. Applebee's will also be offering half-price appetizers after 10 p.m. both days.

Tallahassee Community College Athletics would like to thank the Leon County Tourist Development Council for its support of the TCC Tip-off Classic.