TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (December 16, 2016) – Tallahassee Community College outscored St. Petersburg College 42-22 over the final 14:45 and defeatedthe Titans, 92-72, in men’s college basketball action on Friday afternoon at the Bill Hebrock Eagledome.
Tallahassee has posted back-to-back victories following its first loss of the season on Sunday and carries a 15-1 record into the holiday break. The win also extended the Eagles’ home-court winning streak to 21 games - head coach Mark White is a perfect 20-0 at home.
The game featured a pair of top ten teams in Region 8 – Tallahassee is ranked No. 2 while St. Petersburg entered with a No. 7 ranking – and the game lived up to its billing for much of the afternoon.
Tallahassee led by as many as 10 (36-26) in the first half and took a 45-40 lead to the intermission, but St. Petersburg needed less than 60 seconds to tie things up to start the second half. After a pair of Canaan Bartley free throws put the Titans in front, 50-49, their only lead of the second half, Tallahassee tied the score on its ensuing possession when Will Washington hit one of two from the line.
Free throws became a major storyline in the second half – 35 fouls led to the teams shooting a combined 47 free throws – and foul trouble gradually plagued both teams. All 11 players on St. Petersburg’s roster picked up at least two personal fouls while Tallahassee had four different players finish the game with four.
Tallahassee knocked down 15 of its 23 second-half free throw attempts, but it was a shot from long distance that put Tallahassee in front to stay.
With the score tied at 50-all, Tre Todd, who set the school record with nine three-pointers in Tuesday’s win over Red Devils Basketball Academy, hit an open three from the corner, and the Eagles never trailed again.
Later, Jacob Winston’s three-pointer capped a 9-0 spurt to push the Eagles’ lead to 11, only to see St. Petersburg claw back to within six. Finally, a 10-2 run over a two-minute span extended Tallahassee’s lead to 78-64, with 5:10 left, and the Eagles cruised from there.
While Tallahassee shot 14-of-28 (50.0 percent) from the floor in the second half, the Eagles clamped down on St. Petersburg defensively. The Titans hit just three field goals over the final ten minutes and shot 7-of-24 in the second half.
David Simmons led four Tallahassee players in double-figures with 22 points. Kiair Crouch scored 17 points in the first half and finished with 19 overall.
Winston added 16 and Washington had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Tallahassee, off to its best start since the 2000-01 season, will return to action on December 29 when it hosts the Tallahassee Democrat Holiday Classic.
