Chipola edges Northwest Florida 50-47 in defensive battle

MARIANNA, FL - The rematch between the #3 Raiders and host Chipola was expected to be close, intense, and back and forth all night long. Those in attendance definitely experience all of those facets on Saturday evening.  Momentum swings, big shots, and key defensive stops were in abundance.  But it was the Indians who made the plays down the stretch to outlast Northwest Florida 50-47 and in the process handed the Raiders their first conference loss of the season.  The loss dropped the Raiders to 21-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play.

The game could not have started any better for the Raiders.  After the first 9 minutes, NWF led by 11 points and seemed poised to repeat their terrific performance the last time the two teams played.  The Indians, however, had other plans and slowly chipped away at the NWF lead to only trail the Raiders 23-18 at intermission. 

Chipola kept the deficit close thanks to cold shooting by Northwest Florida and forcing 21 Raider turnovers.  NWF shot a season-low 35% from the field and scored their lowest output of the season in 47 points. 

Northwest Florida was led in scoring by Deshawndre Washington with a game-high 17 points.  Washington was the steadying force for the sputtering Raider offense but when he fouled out at the 5:41 mark in the second half, NWF struggled to recover. 

Tre Clark was also in double figures with 10 points and Issa Muhammad grabbed 10 rebounds. 

The Raiders will look to get back on track when they return home to host Tallahassee Community College on Wednesday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m.

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