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TCCBasketball: Eagle men rally past Pensacola State

TCCBasketball: Eagle men rally past Pensacola State
TCCBasketball: Eagle men rally past Pensacola State
Posted at 12:00 AM, Feb 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-01 15:54:50-04

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 2, 2019) – A 20-2 run midway through the second half fueled Tallahassee Community College's 60-52, come-from-behind victory over Pensacola State College on Saturday evening in men's basketball action. 

NJCAA No. 20/Region 8 No. 5 Tallahassee (20-4) reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in four years. More importantly, the Eagles improved to 4-3 in Panhandle Conference play to keep pace with second-place Chipola College (5-2). 

Tallahassee overcame a dismal shooting performance from the floor to defeat the Pirates for the second time this season. The Eagles shot just 29.3 percent (17-of-58) for the game and 7-of-28 during a first half that ended with a 27-23 deficit. 

Pensacola State jumped out to an 11-2 lead five minutes into the game and never trailed through the first 30 minutes. With 11:49 left in the game, Yeikson Montero's three-pointer gave the Pirates a 41-36 lead. 

With its postseason hopes potentially on the line, Tallahassee hit seven of its next 11 shot attempts over the next 5:48 to turn a five-point deficit into a 13-point lead. 

Mustafa Lawrence started the run with a three-pointer, and Richard Washington's and-1 gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 42-41, with 10:36 left in the game. Another old-fashioned three-point play, courtesy of Natorian Tyson, preceded three more shots from distance, the last by Deven Palmer that pushed the lead to 56-43 with 5:19 remaining. 

Out of a timeout, Pensacola State scored nine unanswered to pull within four, 56-52, with 2:51 left, but the Pirates didn't score again. 

Eric Boone sealed the game and capped the scoring by hitting four free throws. After netting the Eagles' first 13 points of the game, he finished with a team-high 17. 

Palmer had 14 points and Washington added 13 points and 13 rebounds. 

Tallahassee, arguably, won the game at the free throw line, where it hit 16-of-17 attempts, compared to just 6-of-10 for Pensacola State. 

Tallahassee will travel to Northwest Florida State College on Wednesday for an 8:30 p.m. eastern game with the Raiders.