Eagles rout NWF State for largest PC win since ‘07

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 29, 2020) – Tallahassee Community College's men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak in a big way on Wednesday, defeating Northwest Florida State College, 82-42. 

Tallahassee (20-4) hit the 20-win plateau with the victory and also took over sole possession of second place in the Panhandle Conference standings at 4-2, thanks to Chipola College's win over Pensacola State College. The Eagles are one game back of first-place Gulf Coast State College (5-1) but just one-half game ahead of third-place Chipola (4-3). 

The Raiders fell to 12-11 (0-7 PC). 

Two minutes in, Northwest Florida State led 5-3, but Tallahassee quickly sucked any drama out of the Bill Hebrock Eagledome with a near-record three-point barrage. 

Kailex Stephens hit three straight threes to ignite an 18-0 run that ended with the Eagles in front, 21-5, at the 12:53 mark of the first half. Later in the half, the second of two three-pointers by Eric Hester started another double-digit run, this one 11-0. It ended on a three by Daivon Stephens to give Tallahassee a 37-12 lead with 4:23 left in the half.   

Six different players hit a three in the first half and Tallahassee shot 12-of-21 as a team en route to a 48-23 lead at the intermission. 

Tallahassee's lead never dipped below 25 in the second half, despite shooting just 3-of-15 from long distance and not connecting on one until just past the midway point. DeAndre Robinson, the last of seven players to make a three, hit his from the corner to start an 8-0 run and push the Eagles' lead to 30, 63-33, at the 9:27 mark of the second half. 

A 10-0 spurt, capped by Robinson's driving lay in, followed soon thereafter and Tallahassee's lead swelled to 78-35, with 4:51 left in the game. 

El Ellis put an exclamation point on the win with a dunk in transition, extending the Eagles' lead to 82-38 – their largest of the night – with 2:00 left to play. 

Ten players scored on Wednesday, including four in double-figures, paced by Tariq Silver's 16. 

Hester had 14; Stephens, 11; and Ellis 10. 

Wednesday's win marked the largest over Northwest Florida State since February 24, 1997, when Bootsy Thornton scored a then-school record 41 points en route to a 117-66 win for the Eagles, and it was the largest margin of victory over any Panhandle opponent since a 47-point win over Gulf Coast State College on January 13, 2007. 

The win was also the third straight against Northwest Florida State, something that had not happened since a five-game winning streak in 2005 and 2006. It also clinched the season series with the Raiders for the first time 2011. 

Tallahassee will travel to Pensacola State College for an 8:30 p.m. showdown on Saturday.