MEN
NJCAA No. 2/Region 8 No. 1 Tallahassee Community College improved to 7-0 with Tuesday's 70-49 triumph over Region 8 No. 5 Chipola College in men's basketball action at the Bill Hebrock Eagledome.
The win also moved the Eagles to 2-0 in league play.
Three players scored in double-figures for Tallahassee, including a game-high 26 by El Ellis, while a collective defensive effort held the Indians to their lowest scoring output in the series in more than 11 years (49 points on January 19, 2010).
Chipola shot just 33.3 percent (16-of-48) for the game, 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) in the second half – and just 2-of-17 from long distance – while also committing 26 turnovers.
DeAngelo Ware opened the scoring with a three-pointer, and the Eagles never trailed. His second three-pointer of the half gave Tallahassee a 31-20 lead, and Tyler Poindexter hit a free throw to cap a 9-0 run for a 32-20 advantage with 3:30 left in the half.
Poindexter closed the first-half scoring with a basket in the paint to send the Eagles to the locker room in front 34-24.
After Chipola scored the first basket of the second half, Tallahassee seized control with a 12-2 run. Poindexter's three from the corner finished the surge and put the Eagles ahead 46-28 with 13:12 remaining.
Later in the half, Ellis scored 11 of his 15 second-half points during a 4:20 span, part of an 18-6 run that resulted in a 25-point lead (64-39), the Eagles' largest of the night.
Ware finished with 11 points and Poindexter, 10.
Up next for Tallahassee is a trip to Northwest Florida State College on Thursday evening (8:30 p.m.) followed by a home date with Pensacola State College on Saturday (5 p.m.).
WOMEN
Playing at home for the first time in almost a year, Tallahassee Community College's women's basketball team fell to Chipola College, 75-47, on Tuesday evening.
The Eagles are now 1-3 (0-2 Panhandle Conference).
Both teams got off to a rather slow start, with Chipola leading 14-5 after the first quarter. A 22-11 second quarter advantage gave the Indians a 36-16 lead heading to the locker room.
Kyra Smith scored the initial basket of the third quarter, cutting the Eagles' deficit to 18, but they would get no closer.
Smith finished with a team-high 12 points to lead Tallahassee. Polina Nikulochkina added 10.
Rita James came off the bench to score nine and pull down a team-high seven rebounds.
Tallahassee will travel to Northwest Florida State College on Thursday evening for a 6:30 p.m. tip with the Raiders then host Pensacola State College at 3 p.m. Saturday.
