IRSC Men’s Basketball Team Finish The Season With Loss At Broward
This was the second straight year of qualifying for the tournament, but were unable to advance. The Pioneers found themselves behind early and had difficulty closing the gap, "we got behind early by not being able to convert on the offensive end of the floor," stated IRSC Head Coach Charlie Wilson. Missed lay-ups and several turnovers allowed Broward to build their lead to 15 points at the half, 42-27.
The second half started much the same for the Pioneers finding themselves down 58-38 with 14:07 left to go in the second half, before shooting guard Willy Nunez was fouled on a three-point shot and converted all three free-throws to cut the lead to 17. IRSC continued to battle cutting the lead to eight, 83-75 with 2:29 remaining in the game after a three-point basket by point guard Eli Farley. The clock became the enemy for the Pioneers as they ran out of time and could not narrow Broward's lead, eventually losing 97-85.
Scoring leaders for IRSC were 6'3" freshmen guard, Cedric Jackson with 18 points, Nunez 15, Shaq Rombley 12, Joshua Oliver 11, and Farley added 10. Jackson led the team in scoring the last two games picking up the slack for injured sophomore guard Shaun Willett. Willett, the second leading scorer and rebounder for IRSC, sustained an Achilles injury during the Broward game on February 18th and missed the remaining two games of the season.
The Pioneers finished the season with a record of 17-12 and 8-7 in the Southern Conference. "We would have liked to finish the season a little stronger, but we had opportunities to win every game we played in this year," pointed out Coach Wilson. IRSC will be losing Willy Nunez, Jaylin Stewart, Shaun Willett, Elijah Farley, Devon Collins, Joshua Oliver, and Andrew Anderson. Nunez, Farley, Oliver, and Anderson were all part of Wilson's first recruiting class and totaled 34 over-all wins, 16 conference wins and were ranked for several weeks in the Region 8 State Poll during their two year career at Indian River State College. "I couldn't be prouder of what these young men have done for the Pioneer Program and want to sincerely thank each one of them for their contributions," commented second year Coach Wilson. "I always tell the sophomores this is not their final destination, and I have no doubt they will go on to their next college team and do great things," Coach Wilson. Wilson returns a solid freshmen class and with the addition of a few new recruits should be a strong contender next season.