Northwest Florida shows resolve down the stretch to outlast Tallahassee 64-55

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Throughout the years, the Eagle Dome has provided some classic, down-to-the-wire ballgames between Northwest Florida and Tallahassee.  Those games are always physical, super intense, and feature wild momentum swings for the entire ballgame.  History certainly repeated itself on Saturday as the No. 4 Raiders found themselves in another one of those classic battles.  But thanks to a terrific second half, NWF found a way to get the hard-earned 64-55 win over the host Eagles.

TCC made their intentions known early on in the contest by jumping to an early advantage.  Both teams traded mini-runs back and forth for the remainder of the half that found Northwest Florida trailing by two points at intermission.

Head coach Greg Heiar and his staff continued their trend of making key halftime adjustments on Saturday.  The Raiders slowed down the dribble penetration by the Eagles that had plagued them in the first half, and their offense got going down the stretch as they began to build a modest margin for the remainder of the game. 

Sophomore guard Deshawndre Washington had his best game in the young conference season, routinely getting to the rim and putting pressure on the TCC defense.  He was aided by Tre Clark who got cooking in the second half after battling foul trouble for much of the first 20-minutes.  Clark led the Raiders in scoring with 16 points and Washington added 15 points and 10 rebounds (unofficially). 

Northwest Florida's hard earned victory caps off a very successful opening week for the Raiders, who now improve to 19-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play.  They will enjoy their upcoming BYE and rest up for their next contest when they host Pensacola on Saturday, January 15 at 4:00 in Raider Arena.

For more information on Northwest Florida State athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow @NWFRaiders on Twitter.