Eagle men trounce Commodores

By Luke Fay, Athletics Communications | fayl@tcc.fl.edu

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 20, 2021) – Tallahassee Community College's men's basketball team trounced Gulf Coast State College, 107-67, on Saturday afternoon at the Bill Hebrock Eagledome. The Eagles set a school record with 20 three-point makes on 60.6% shooting from long distance. 

The previous record of 18 made three-pointers had stood since November 7, 1997, against Bishop (Ala.) State Community College.

The men improve to 10-1 on the year and 4-1 in Panhandle Conference play. 

Tallahassee was led in the first half by sophomore guard El Ellis who shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the field and 6-of-6 from beyond the arc for 24 points. Ellis finished with 29 points. 

The Eagles fell behind 8-0 early in the first half. The deficit was short-lived as they took the 17-15 lead on a two-point basket by Jeremiah Kendall. The Eagles' first five field goals came via the three-point shot, which became a common theme for the game. 

The men clung to a 24-23 lead with 11:09 left in the half before Ellis knocked down back-to-back threes to give Tallahassee the 30-25 lead at the 9:51 mark. 

The Eagles closed out the final 7:42 of the half on a 22-7 run. 

Tallahassee drained 13 three-pointers in the first half. Five of the 13 came from an unlikely shooter in guard Chris Hampton. Hampton came into the game shooting 22% from three. He finished with 15 points on the night. 

The second half was much of the same for Tallahassee as the Commodores had no answer for the Eagles' shooting barrage. The team managed to go 7-of-12 (58.3%) from three in the second half and 20-for-33 for the game. 

The Noah Croak-led team outscored the Commodores by 19 in the second half (49-30) and held their opponent to under 70 points for the eighth time this season. 

Jeremiah Kendall chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds. Etan Collins joined Ellis, Kendall, and Hampton in double figures with 11 points on 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. 

The Eagles' next game will be Tuesday at Chipola College. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. eastern.

NOTES: Tallahassee is now 66-25 all-time vs. Gulf Coast State and 36-7 at the Bill Hebrock Eagledome...the Eagles have won 15 of the last 19 head-to-head meetings...this was the largest margin of victory over the Commodores since an 86-39 win on January 13, 2007...the 107 points is the most Tallahassee has scored against a nationally-ranked opponent since dropping 121 on North Idaho College at the 1997 NJCAA Tournament...the 40-point victory is Tallahassee's largest over a nationally-ranked opponent, eclipsing the 38-point win (64-26) over Southwest Tennessee Community College on October 30, 2015...the win was Tallahassee's 50th all-time against a nationally-ranked opponent and it is now 3-1 against teams ranked No. 17...the Eagles are now 251-73 when nationally-ranked, including an 11-4 mark when ranked No. 7...the 20 three-pointers set a new school record, the previous mark was 19.