Eagles’ bid for PC title falls short

NICEVILLE, Fla. (February 20, 2016) – Tallahassee Community College's run at a Panhandle Conference Championship fell short on Saturday evening in a 102-73 loss to Northwest Florida State College. 

The Eagles end the regular season at 19-11, 8-4 in PC play, one game back of the Raiders. 

Despite the loss, Tallahassee will move on to Ocala and the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Tournament for the first time since 2011. There, the Eagles will tangle with NJCAA No. 4/Region 8 No. 1 Eastern Florida State College at 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 2. 

The Raiders used an impressive three-point barrage to end the suspense quickly. 

Less than six minutes in, Northwest Florida State led 19-7, and the Eagles never got any closer. With 8:24 remaining in the first half, Tallahassee was in a 31-15 hole and by the half the Eagles trailed 57-33. 

Ball game. 

Northwest Florida State shot 64.7 percent (22-of-34) from the floor in the first half, including 10-of-17 from long distance, and finished 61.9 percent (39-of-63) for the game. 

Meanwhile, after hitting just 3-of-21 three-pointers in its January visit to The Arena, Tallahassee endured another long shooting night on Saturday, connecting on just 8-of-36 from long distance. 

Daishon Smith's 20 points led Tallahassee.