TCC men begin four-game road trip at Santa Fe

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (November 8, 2012) - After splitting two games at last weekend's season-opening Tallahassee Democrat Tip-off Classic, Tallahassee Community College's men's basketball team will hit the road for four straight games, beginning with Friday's 6 p.m. date at Santa Fe College. 

Tallahassee will turn around and head to Florida State College at Jacksonville on Monday before ending the road swing with back-to-back games at St. Petersburg College and Daytona State College next Friday and Saturday.  

The Eagles (1-1) played a pair of two-point games last weekend, dropping the opener to Gadsden State (Ala.) Community College, 71-69 - Tallahassee's first season-opening loss since 1993 - then defeating Central Georgia Technical College, 74-72, on Saturday. Friday's game, the Eagles' first against a Region 8 opponent, will be an even stiffer test.

Santa Fe is ranked No. 10 in this week's FCSAA Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll and has won both of its games by an average of 51 points.

Tallahassee leads the all-time series with Santa Fe, 17-3, but the Saints are riding a two-game win streak against the Eagles.

FCSAA Poll Update

Despite dropping its season opener for the first time since 1993, Tallahassee Community College moved up one spot to No. 5 in the Florida College System Activities Association's (FCSAA) Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll, released earlier this week.

The top four teams in the poll remained intact - Northwest Florida State College, Chipola College, Palm Beach State College and College of Central Florida. Previous No. 5 Gulf Coast State College split its two games at an event in Aiken, S.C., thus opening the door for Tallahassee and St. Petersburg College to climb one spot each, to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

A fifth Panhandle Conference school, Pensacola State College, opened the season with two wins and jumped three spots to No. 7. Polk State College held on to the No. 8 ranking, followed by Gulf Coast State and poll newcomer Santa Fe College.

The next FCSAA Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll will be released on Tuesday. The NJCAA's first regular season poll will be released Tuesday as well.