NWF Defeats Gulf Coast 65-51 on Saturday
NICEVILLE, Fla. – Coming off a tough home loss last weekend at the hands of Tallahassee, the Raiders were looking for a major bounce-back win at home Saturday against the formidable Gulf Coast Commodores. The Raiders did just that with a 65-51 victory over their conference foes from Panama City, earning their 22nd victory of the season and fifth in Panhandle Conference play while sending the Commodores home with their fourth straight loss.
The Raiders did not have their best shooting performance for the game, only connecting on 37.0% of their attempts, including 27.3% from three-point land. However, they did see three of their starters eclipse double-digits in scoring, including Tajuan Simpkins (14), RaSheed Jones (11) and Jadyn Shider (11). Not only did Shider find himself in the double-figure scoring column again, he also hauled in 11 rebounds, recording his sixth double-double of the season. Tyrese Elliott also had a solid outing, scoring nine points while adding five rebounds and three steals in the game.
NWF took control of the game early and never let up, as the Raiders led the Commodores for the entirety of the game. Defense was an emphasis throughout. The Raiders forced 21 Gulf Coast turnovers, which gave them plenty of opportunities to score in the fast break. In fact, 23 of the Raiders points came in transition compared to the Commodores 12.
The Raiders now improve to 22-3 on the season and 5-2 in conference play. The team remains in a two-horse race with Chipola for the top spot in the Conference, as the two teams both feature the same record in league play. Next week's matchup in Niceville with the Indians will be huge as it could determine who takes first place in the Conference heading down the final stretch of regular season games.
FIRST HALF
The Raiders jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before the Commodores made a mark on the scoreboard. The Raiders hung on to a two-point lead for much of the first half until Elliott put NWF up by five with a layup inside of the ten-minute mark. Will Hynes followed Elliott's layup with a three from the corner to extend the Raiders lead to 18-10, but the Commodores answered right back back-to-back three to cut their deficit back down to two.
Simpkins joined the party with a three in the ensuing possession, bringing NWF's lead back to five with eight minutes to go in the half. Later, RaSheed Jones would connect on back-to-back threes to push the Raiders' lead to double-digits (10) before nailing another three with 1:37 left in the first, giving NWF a 12-point cushion over Gulf Coast. After 20 minutes of play, the Raiders carried a 37-25 lead over the Commodores.
SECOND HALF
The Raiders began the second half on a 6-0 scoring run, extending their lead to 18 before Gulf Coast got on the board with a pair of made threes, bringing the score to 43-31. Back-to-back trips to the charity stripe helped extend the Raiders' lead to 16 with around eight minutes to play. A Simpkins three and Tavion Banks layup gave the Raiders their largest lead of the game (19) with 4:36 left in the game. The layup by banks would be the Raiders' last make from the floor, as the rest of their points (4) came from the free-throw line. The Commodores did make a small push at the end, going on a 7-2 run in the final three minutes of action, but they couldn't amount to much more. The Raiders sent the Commodores home with their fourth straight loss following a 65-51 victory over them at home.
UP NEXT
The Raiders have a tough road matchup next week as they travel to Pensacola to take on the Pirates, who are riding a three-game winning streak. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
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