Balanced Raider attack outpaces Gulf Coast 91-69

NICEVILLE, FL -The #3 Raiders began the second round of conference play just like the first round started, with a victory over Gulf Coast State College.  This particular contest featured more intensity, a faster pace, and two teams that can make shots in a variety of ways.  And after the visiting Commodores lingered closely for almost the entirety of the game, the Raiders pulled away late to secure the 91-69 win to improve their overall record to 21-1 and 5-0 in the Panhandle standings. 

On an evening where Gulf Coast proved to be a tough defensive task for NWF, especially guard Jammy Piere-Louis who scored 22, the Raider offense conversely gave the Commodores fits all night thanks to an extremely balanced attack.  An astounding 6 Raiders scored in double figures behind 54% shooting, 18 assists, and rim attacking drives. Thanks to that constant dribble penetration, Northwest Florida outscored Gulf Coast 48-24 in points in the paint and their aggressive offensive approach led to 26 free-throw attempts compared to just 8 for the Commodores. 

Deshawndre Washington was a stat stuffer for Northwest Florida, scoring 11 points, grabbing 17 rebounds, and dishing 7 assists.  Leading the Raiders in scoring was Issa Muhammad with 16 points and the sophomore from Atlanta, GA was huge in protecting the paint all night long.  Rounding out the double digit scorers for NWF was Kam Woods (15), Brennan Rigsby (14), Tre Clark (12), and Shammah Scott (11). 

Northwest Florida will not have much time to enjoy the win. In two short days, they travel to Marianna, FL on Saturday, January 22 to take on the Chipola Indians for the second time this season. 

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