Defensive gem sends Eagles to finals

NICEVILLE, Fla. (March 6, 2020) – Behind a record-breaking defensive effort, Tallahassee Community College's men's basketball team defeated Eastern Florida State College, 49-34, in Friday's semifinal at the FCSAA State/NJCAA District Tournament. 

Tallahassee (27-5) advances to Saturday's championship game, where it will face Panhandle Conference rival Gulf Coast State College for the fourth time this season. 

Tip-off is at 6 p.m. eastern and the winner will earn an automatic berth to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships in Hutchinson, Kan. 

The 34 points allowed is a school-record for postseason play for Tallahassee, eclipsing the 39 points scored by Howard (Texas) College in the 2006 NJCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. 

Entering Friday's game, Eastern Florida State (63.0) and Tallahassee (64.1) were 1-2 in Region 8 in points allowed per game. That storyline played out for both teams in the opening half, which ended with the Eagles in front, 19-17. 

Tallahassee altered the script in the second half. 

Eastern Florida State grabbed a 24-21 lead with 14:42 left, then the Eagles exploded for a 28-4 run. They scored 13 unanswered before an Osayi Osifo jumper ended a 4:49 scoring drought for the Titans. Another 7:35 ticked off the clock before Eastern Florida State hit another shot from the field. They managed only a pair of free throws during that stretch, which yielded a 49-28 lead for the Eagles. 

After shooting just 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) in the first half, the Eagles knocked down 12-of-23 shots (52.2 percent) in the second stanza, including 6-of-14 threes. 

Tariq Silver, who hit a three at the first half buzzer, knocked down two more after halftime and finished with 12 points to lead Tallahassee. Yahel Hill had another solid performance off the bench, connecting on three three-pointers and finished with 11 points. 

Saturday's game can be seen live on Emerald Coast TV. The Eagles will provide an audio-only broadcast on Facebook.