Balanced Effort Leads Raiders to Victory Over Tallahassee, Improve to 1-0 in Conference Play

NICEVILLE, Fla. – Saturday afternoon, Northwest Florida State men's basketball secured its tenth consecutive victory with a hard-fought win over Tallahassee State at home, opening Panhandle Conference play with a 1-0 record and improving to 15-3 overall on the season.

The game was a battle from start to finish, with both teams fighting tooth and nail for control. The Raiders appeared poised to dominate early, jumping out to a ten-point lead. However, Tallahassee responded with a 12-point run midway through the first half, taking a five-point lead—their largest of the game.

Both teams traded three-pointers, with the Raiders hitting three and the Eagles sinking two, keeping the game within a possession. By halftime, Northwest Florida regained the edge, taking a slim 34-32 lead into the break. Braylon Roman led the first-half effort with 10 points, while Josh Hayes and Davion Hill added five apiece. The Raiders shot 40.0% from the field and an impressive 46.2% from beyond the arc in the opening half.

Coming out of halftime, the Raiders stayed hot from deep, with three of their first four made baskets coming from behind the arc. This early surge extended their lead to seven points by the under-16 media timeout. Dwayne Pierce pushed the lead to double digits with a layup just before the 14-minute mark.

Over the next ten minutes, the Raiders maintained a comfortable lead, but the Eagles refused to back down. Tallahassee cut the deficit to two possessions with just over four minutes remaining and then to three points following a made tip-in with 2:43 left. With multiple Raiders in foul trouble, the team faced a challenging finish.

However, Northwest Florida's defense held strong, and the team knocked down crucial free throws to preserve their advantage, ultimately sealing a 73-65 victory.

PERFORMANCES & STATS OF NOTE

• Nathan Ojukwu led the Raiders in scoring with 16 points for the for the contest, adding eight assists and five steals to his total.
• Davion Hill and Josh Hayes followed with 11 and 10 points respectively
• The Raiders drained ten threes in the game- the third highest total this season.
• The raiders were plus one in rebounds, plus eight in assists, a and plus two in steals.
• 21 of the Raiders points came off turnovers while 11 were in transition.
• 30 of the Raiders points came from inside.

UP NEXT

The Raiders will enjoy a week off before returning to action on January 18 at 4:00 p.m., when they travel to Pensacola for their second game of the early conference schedule. The team won't play at home again until January 22, when they host Gulf Coast.