Raiders Head to Panama City to Close Out 2023
Game #15
Calhoun College (6-7) vs. #4 Northwest Florida State (14-1)
December 30, 2023 | 12:00 PM (CST) | Panama City, Florida | Billy Harrison Field House
Game #16
Georgia Highlands (3-6) vs. #4 Northwest Florida State (14-1)
December 31, 2023 | 12:00 PM (CST) | Panama City, Florida | Billy Harrison Field House
NICEVILLE, Florida – Following a two-week hiatus form the court, Northwest Florida men's basketball returns to action this weekend with a pair of matchups against Calhoun College and Georgia Highlands for the Panama City Classic, hosted by Gulf Coast College.
With an impressive 14-1 record in the first half of the season, the Raiders aim to maintain their momentum and secure two victories this weekend as they gear up for the commencement of conference play on January 13 against Chipola.
TIP OFF
The Panama City Classic will commence Saturday at noon (CST), with NWF taking on Calhoun College from Billy Harrison Field House. From there, the Raiders will take on Georgia Highlands Sunday at noon for some New Year's Eve action.
The Raiders enter the weekend as the No. 4 ranked team in the country. They are riding a four-game win streak after defeating Florida Southwestern (74-67), Hillsborough (95-63), Copiah-Lincoln (70-54) and Eastern Florida State (62-60).
Calhoun comes to Panama City on a two-game losing streak after falling to Pearl River (82-62) and Northeast Mississippi (74-58). Georgia Highlands currently holds a 3-6 record, with their only three wins coming against Southwest Tennessee (86-83), Gulf Coast State (90-84), and New Rock Prep (102-81).
LAST TIME OUT
NWF last took the floor on December 8 and 9 from Raider Arena, where they grabbed a pair of victories against Copiah-Lincoln (70-54) and No. 20 Eastern Florida State (62-60).
The Raiders handled Copiah-Lincoln with ease, defeating the Wolves by 16 points, thanks to a couple of double-digit scoring performances from Jamal Sumlin (17) and Jadyn Shider (12). In addition, NWF was able to outshoot Copiah-Lincoln 52.5%-33.3%, marking the sixth time this season the Raiders eclipsed the 50% plateau as a team.
The game against Eastern Florida was a different story. The Raiders and Titans went toe-to-toe for 40 straight minutes, with the game seeing ten ties and 20 lead changes. Both sides shot nearly identical percentages from the field, hitting around 40.0% of their shots. However, Eastern Florida secured the edge from the arc, connecting on 36.0% of their shots from three compared to the Raiders 15.8%.
NWF was able to take a lead late in the game courtesy of some late game heroics from Tavion Banks and Jamal Sumlin, who combined to score 25 points in the game. Additionally, Tajuan Simpkins (17) and RaSheed Jones (10) managed to reach double-digits in scoring for the game, rounding out the quartet of double-digit scorers for the game.
RAIDERS STATISTICAL LEADERS
PTS/G: Tajuan Simpkins (14.3)
FG%: Jadyn Shider (68.4%)
3FG%: Tajuan Simpkins (40.5%)
REB/G: Jadyn Shider (8.5)
AST/G: Jamal Sumlin (3.8)
STL/G: Tajuan Simpkins (1.9)
BLK/G: Tavion Banks (0.9)
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