Raiders Take Down No. 3 Indian Hills in Thriller

NICEVILLE, Fla. – No. 18 Northwest Florida men's basketball knocked off No. 3 Indian Hills, 65-64, in a thriller inside Raider Arena Friday.

The Raiders (7-1) erased an 11-point first half deficit and fought off a pesky Warriors squad en route to the team's third consecutive victory. Marseilles Caston scored a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 11 in the game's final 6:23.

"Tonight was a step in the right direction" Northwest Florida head coach Butch Pierre said. "On the defensive end we really played well. Offensively, we made some shots late in the shot clock and really came through."

NWF trailed for the majority of the game before battling back to level the game at 55-all on Caston's layup with 4:50 to play. The Raiders extended their advantage to as many as six points late in the game, but Indian Hills refused to go away.

The Warriors (6-2) stayed in the game on the back of a pair of 3-pointers from Tyon Grant-Foster, but a textbook defense stop by Northwest Florida in the game's final seconds sealed the win. 

Shakwon Barrett finished with 15 points and five assists, while Seth Millner had 14 points and Carte'Are Gordon chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.

Grant-Foster led the way for Indian Hills with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Northwest Florida heads west to take part in the Pensacola Tournament Nov. 25-27.

NWF CLASSIC

Thursday

Indian Hills – 60

Gulf Coast – 61

East Mississippi – 53

Northwest Florida – 67

Friday

East Mississippi – 59

Gulf Coast – 77

Indian Hills – 64

Northwest Florida – 65

For more information on Northwest Florida athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow the team on Twitter at @NWF_Raiders.