Raiders Pick Up Huge Road Win over #3 Tallahassee 69-67
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Northwest Florida Men's Basketball got off to a scorching hot start in the Eagle Dome, taking an early 24-8 lead on the Tallahassee Eagles. Despite multiple momentum swings in the second half, the Raiders were able to hold off the #3 Eagles 69-67 on Wednesday night to improve their record to 17-6, 3-2 in the Panhandle Conference.
At the halftime break, the Raiders led by 13. Rick Cabrera's squad came out with a different mindset in the second half and chipped away at the lead, bringing the game to within 1 point. Tavion Banks hit a clutch bucket off the glass to extend the lead to 66-63 with under a minute to go. The Raiders fouled Addison Patterson, who went 1-2 from the free throw line to bring it to a 2-point game. Patterson finished the night with 34 points. Marcus Niblack hit 2 free throws with 14 seconds remaining to make it a 4-point game and put the game out of reach for the Eagles.
The Raiders huge road win gave Tallahassee only their second loss on the season, the first coming at the hands of Southern Union in Raider Arena on November 11th. Kasean Pryor led NWF with 16 points and 9 rebounds, followed by Taryn Todd and Collin Warren each having 13 points. Marcus Niblack led the team with 4 assists.
Northwest Florida (17-6, 3-2) will be back at home on Saturday, January 28th vs. #5 Chipola College at 4:00 PM. The Indians (22-1, 4-1) won the first matchup on January 7th after Chad Baker-Mazara's 3-pointer hit off the back iron to give Chipola a 75-74 win.
For more information on Northwest Florida athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow @NWFRaiders on Twitter and Instagram.