Shider, Banks and Simpkins Show Out in Raiders 68-50 Victory Over Southern Union

NICEVILLE, Florida – Playing in their fourth straight home game, Northwest Florida men's basketball secured its fifth straight victory Friday night after Jadyn Shider, Tavion Banks and Tajuan Simkins all score in double-figures, leading to a 18 point win over Southern Union – the second time the Raiders have defeated the Bison this season.

Jadyn Shider secured his second double-double of the season with 21 points and ten rebounds on the night. Tavion Banks contributed 15 points to the mix making it the third straight game he's scored in double-figures. Tajuan Simkins amassed 13 points off the bench, bringing his season scoring average to just under 17 points per game.

Northwest Florida did not shoot the ball very effectively tonight, finishing the game with a 36.9% clip – their worst shooting performance on the season, from what has been a hot start offensively to this point. Southern Union finished the game shooting 40.4%, however, turnovers game the Bison trouble as they gave the ball up 27 times to the Raiders 19.

The Raiders took advantage of the Bisons' inability to secure the rock, scoring 21 points off turnovers and converting 16 second chance points. The Raiders now move to 5-0 on the season and will look to make it 6-0 tomorrow as they take on Meridian, who lost by double digits earlier in the day to Pensacola.

FIRST HALF

• NWF got off to a sluggish start, making just two of their first ten attempts.
• Tavion Banks and Tajuan Simkins finally got things going with back-to-back made three, giving the Raiders a five-point lead with just under 14 to play in the half.
• Trey Brown and Tajuan Simkins then hit another pair of threes to push the Raiders lead to nine right around the ten-minute mark.
• Tavion Banks gave NWF their first double-digit lead after sinking a pair of free throws.
• The Raiders closed out the half shooting 42.9% from the field, 40.0% from three, and 87.5% from the charity stripe.

SECOND HALF

• Tyrese Elliott kickoff the second half with a triple from the top, giving NWF a 20 point advantage over Southern union.
• Tajuan Simkins drained his third triple of the night, pushing the Raiders lead to 26 with just under 14 minutes in the game.
• After that, the game saw a bit of a scoring doubt as neither team would make a basket until Simkins hammered one home, bringing the score to 59-33.
• The Raiders would go the final four minutes without making a basket from the floor, giving some added life to a Bison squad who was looking to find anything positive out of this game.
• Despite the late push, Northwest Florida would hang on to their double-digit lead and take-home win number five on the season.

UP NEXT

NWF is back at Raider arena tomorrow night for their second and final game of the weekend. They will face Meridian, who is coming off a tough loss to Pensacola earlier in the day. Tip off for that game set for 7:30 PM inside Raider Arena.