Big Second Half Propels IRSC to 9-2 Record

Fort Pierce, Florida – A sixty-three-point second half was just what the number 7^th ranked team in the NJCAA Region 8 Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll needed to defeat State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota 95-83.  The Indian River State College (IRSC) Men's Basketball Team has had some big second halves, but none bigger than Saturday, We had trouble getting on track in the first half, but we did a much better job of moving the ball and finding the open man in the second half," stated IRSC Head Coach Charlie Wilson.  The Pioneers only converted one of 8 three-point attempts in the first half but converted 9-13 in the second half for almost seventy percent from behind the arc.  

Manatee-Sarasota took the early lead on Saturday as they jumped out to a 22-8 advantage with 10:07 remaining, and took a 41-32 lead into the half.  IRSC slowly climbed back into the ball game and pulled ahead 52-51 with 14:22 to go in the second half, on a fast break lay-up by Kimani Binder from Kahleel Ellis-Garcia who led the team with 6 assists.  The Pioneers build the lead to 85-70 with just under three minutes to go and held on for the 12 point win. 

Kimani Binder led the team with 22 points, Jai Clark scored 16 points and went 5-7 from 3-point range, Kahleel Ellis-Garcia added 15, and Charlie Daniels chipped in 12 and pulled in 8 rebounds. 

This was the second meeting between the two teams with IRSC winning the first contest at Bradenton, Florida 88-81.  The teams will meet again in nine days when they will face off in the Florida Juco Tournament held at College of Central Florida in Ocala, at 8 p.m. on Sunday December 9^th.  The Pioneers will first take on Polk State College in Ocala on Saturday December 8^th for a 12 p.m. tip.