IRSC Men Hold On To Beat Santa Fe
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santa Fe College | 38 | 42 | 80 |
|
Indian River State College | 35 | 50 | 85 |
Indian River State College men's Basketball Team managed to hold on for an 85-80 win over Santa Fe College. The Pioneers found themselves down 14-2 in the early minutes of the game as Santa Fe went on a 14-0 run after IRSC scored the first points of the game. They were able to beat the Pioneers in transition and capitalized on several fastbreak baskets to take the lead. Cedric Jackson scored a long 3-point basket to shorten the lead to 9, 14-5 with 15:35 to go. Justin Tucker scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half to close the gap to 38-35 at the half. IRSC started the second half with more intensity and took a 14 point lead with 5:33 left in the game 74-60, but a couple of ill-advised shots and several costly turn-overs allowed Santa Fe to keep the game close. With 30 seconds remaining Santa Fe had cut the lead to 2 points, 82-80, but 3 free-throws helped seal the win.
Poor outside shooting plagued IRSC all evening shooting 15% from the 3-point line. "We didn't execute on offense as well as we would have liked, which caused us to take more difficult shots," pointed out IRSC Head Coach Charlie Wilson. Anthony Brown had a big night for the Pioneers as he tallied 28 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds as he continued to get to the rim. Other scoring leaders were Cedric Jackson and Justin Tucker who both added 17 points respectfully. Leading rebounders were Tucker with 13 and Shaq Rombley who pulled in 10 as IRSC took a slight rebounding edge over Santa Fe 45-39. The win moved IRSC's record to 9-1 on the season their best start in several years. "I'm proud of these guys and the effort they give daily, if we can clean up a few of our mistakes we should have a successful season," commented Coach Wilson.
The next action for the Pioneers will be on Wednesday, November 29th as they take on Central Florida, the number 6th ranked team in National Junior College Athletic Association Region 8 Men's Basketball Poll. Game time at The River in Fort Pierce, Florida will be 5:30 p.m.