Raiders Open 2024 at Home Against Southwest Miss.
Game #17
Southwest Mississippi (8-4) vs. #4 Northwest Florida State (16-1)
Saturday, January 6, 2023 | 3:00 PM (CST) | Raider Arena | Niceville, FL
Links: Live Stream | Live Stats
TIP OFF
Northwest Florida State is set to open the new year against on Southwest Mississippi this Saturday (Jan. 6) at 3:00 PM from Raider Arena. The Raiders enter the game as the No. 4 ranked team in the nation, boasting an impressive 16-1 record.
The Bears come into Saturday's matchup with a respectable 8-4 record and are currently riding a four-game win streak, having most recently defeated Mississippi Delta (88-80) on December 9. The last time the Bears and Raiders squared off was on November 17, 2018, where NWF routed SW Miss. To an emphatic 105-72 victory in Niceville.
After securing two more wins last week in Panama City, defeating Calhoun (74-68) and Georgia Highlands (82-51), the Raiders aim to finish the non-conference portion of their schedule with a win tomorrow afternoon as they gear up for the start of conference play which will begin next week (Jan. 13) against Chipola.
LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders took home a pair of victories last weekend after knocking off Calhoun (74-68) and Georgia Highlands (82-51). In the game against Calhoun, the Raiders outshot the Warhawks 49.1%-44.6% and saw a plus-four rebound margin, securing 38 total boards. Tavion Banks led the Raiders in scoring with 17 points while adding seven rebounds and four assists to the mix.
Trey Brown posted his second largest scoring output of the season with 11 points for the game. The Raiders also added some depth to their front court after Jaquez Shuler made his long-anticipated debut. The 7'0 forward saw a steady number of minutes (16) while securing four points, seven rebounds and two assists for the Raiders.
On day two, the Raiders were able to defeat Georgia Highlands convincingly after four players eclipsed the double-digit scoring plateau. Tyrese Elliott led the charge with a season high 23 points off the bench followed by Jaquez Shuler (13), RaSheed Jones (12) and Tavion Banks (10).
NWF shot an effective 50.8% from the floor in the game making it the eighth time this season the Raiders surpassed the 50.0% mark for a game. Additionally, the Raiders saw positive margins in multiple categories including rebounds (+19), assists (+5), steals (+2) and blocks (+3).
STATISTICALY SPEAKING
The Raiders currently rank 27th in the nation for points scored with 1283 points on the season. Additionally, the Raiders also rank eighth in the nation in points allowed per game (62.1), 51st in field goal percentage (48.0), 37th in opponents field goal percentage (39.8), 30th in assists per game (18.6), 89th in rebounds per game (39.1), 70th in steals per game at (9.2), and 80th in blocks per game (3.6).
RAIDERS' STATISTICAL LEADERS
PTS/G: Tajuan Simpkins (13.5)
FG%: Jadyn Shider (68.5%)
3FG%: Tajuan Simpkins (40.8%)
REB/G: Jadyn Shider (8.1)
AST/G: Jamal Sumlin (3.6)
STL/G: Tajuan Simpkins (1.8)
BLK/G: Tavion Banks (0.8)
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