TCC men head to break with win over Daytona State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (December 15, 2012) – FCSAA No. 10 Tallahassee Community College (10-4) won its tenth game of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Daytona State College (1-15), 87-69, in NJCAA men's basketball action at the Bill Hebrock Eagledome. 

Tallahassee wanted no part of a repeat scenario from 2011 as it took the floor against the Falcons. 

Last December, Eddie Barnes' Eagles hosted St. Petersburg College and Daytona State on consecutive days to close the first half of the season. Tallahassee beat St. Petersburg but was flat the next day in a nine-point loss to the Falcons.   

Fast forward 12 months and the Eagles' schedule brought the same two opponents to town to close the season's first half. After defeating St. Petersburg, 91-59, last night, Tallahassee hung on to the momentum to complete the weekend sweep and remove a little bit of the sting from last weekend's pair of losses at the Florida College's Men's Basketball Shootout. 

"We thought we embarrassed ourselves a little bit (at the Shootout)," said Barnes, referencing losses to State College of Florida (104-94) and Brevard Community College (87-82), "but we picked up two good home wins this weekend." 

Tallahassee blistered the nets in the first half, hitting 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) shots from the floor but could manage only a nine-point lead at the intermission. Daytona State hit half of its 26 first-half field goal attempts and trailed 43-34 at the half. 

Barnes said his team was noticeably "sluggish" playing its second game in as many days, both coming at the end of exam week. 

"We were (sluggish) tonight after playing as hard as we did (on Friday) but we had a lot of energy in the second half, and I was real proud of them." 

On Friday, the Eagles blitzed St. Petersburg with a 30-1 run midway through the second half to put the game away. Today, Tallahassee wasted no time coming out of the locker room to seal the victory. 

The Eagles needed less than four minutes to double its lead. Jon Hood's three-pointer put Tallahassee in front, 56-38, at the 16:23 mark. That shot was part of a 17-0 run that ended on a basket by Marlon Johnson, which extended the lead to 64-38 with 13:46 left in the game. 

Daytona State needed a 13-3 run in the closing minutes to pull within 17 (82-65) but that was as close as the Falcons got. 

Tallahassee cooled off slightly in the second half, shooting "only" 54.8 percent (17-of-31) and finished 31-of-55 for the game, including 11-of-24 from the three-point line. 

"When we shoot the ball well, I think we can play with anyone," added Barnes. 

Tallahassee not only shot the ball well against Daytona State's zone defense but did so with patience, which also netted 19 assists on 31 made baskets. 

C.J. Washington finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, both team-highs for Tallahassee. Curtis Diamond hit 5-of-7 from long distance and finished with 17 points and six assists. 

Trevor McDade was the only other Eagle in double figures with 14 points, although four other players scored at least eight points. 

Johnson flirted with a triple-double before finishing with eight points, six rebounds and a team-high seven assists. 

Following a two-week break, Tallahassee will return to action on Friday, December 28 when its hosts the Comfort Inn Holiday Classic.