Eagle men, women head west for Thanksgiving

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (November 25, 2015) – Tallahassee Community College's Thanksgiving basketball tradition continues this Thursday through Saturday, but for just the second time in the 25-year history of the program, the Eagles will spend the holiday away from the friendly confines of the Bill Hebrock Eagledome. 

The Eagle men will journey to Pensacola, Fla., for the Select Physical Therapy Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Pensacola State College. Three games await, including Tallahassee's fourth nationally-ranked opponent of the young season. 

Tallahassee, 6-2 and ranked No. 5 in the latest NJCAA Region 8 Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll, will open play at 6 p.m. eastern Thanksgiving night against Region 8 newcomer ASA College (Miami). The Silver Storm, playing their first season as a full member of the NJCAA, are the sister program to ASA College's Brooklyn, N.Y., location. 

ASA College (Miami) is participating in Region 8 as a member of the Southern Conference. 

Tallahassee plays Miami Dade College at 4 p.m. eastern Friday then closes the weekend with a 3 p.m. eastern showdown with NJCAA No. 11 Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Cardinals, an NJCAA Tournament team in 2015, are coached by former Eagle assistant Kris Baumann. 

While the Eagle men are playing Trinity Valley, the Eagle women will be playing a pair of games at the Athens, Texas-based campus as part of the Cardinals' Budke/Serna Classic. 

The event honors Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna, who coached and played at Trinity Valley, respectively. The duo later reunited at Oklahoma State where Serna was an assistant on Budke's coaching staff. Both were killed in a plane crash in 2011. 

The Eagles will play a pair of first-time opponents – Panola (Texas) College at 4 p.m. eastern Friday and San Jacinto (Texas) College-North at 11 a.m. eastern Saturday morning. 

This marks Tallahassee's first trip to Texas since 1997 when it participated in Kilgore Junior College's Junior Achievement Basketball Shootout. The Eagles also traveled to the event in 1996. 

Tallahassee, winners of three straight, is 6-3 on the season and ranked No. 7 in the NJCAA Region 8 Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll. 

For game updates, visit TCCeagles.com or follow the Eagles on Twitter @TCCeagles.

About the Eagle men's opponents

ASA College (Miami)

• Region: 8
• Nickname: Silver Storm
• 2015-16 record: 1-5
• All-time series record: first meeting

Miami Dade College

• Region: 8
• Nickname: Sharks
• 2015-16 record: 5-2
• All-time series record: Tallahassee leads 8-4

Trinity Valley Community College

• Region: 14
• Nickname: Cardinals
• 2015-16 record: 10-1
• All-time series record: first meeting

About the Eagle women's opponents

Panola College

• Region: 14
• Nickname: Fillies
• 2015-16 record: 4-4
• All-time series record: first meeting

San Jacinto College-North

• Region: 14
• Nickname: Ravens
• 2015-16 record: 6-1
• All-time series record: first meeting