Pioneers Lose On The Road To State College Of Florida Manatee-Sarasota

Bradenton, Florida – The Indian River State College (IRSC) Men's Basketball Team suffered a tough road loss on Saturday as they were defeated by State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, 88-84.  Manatee came out ready to play and hit a deep three-point shot on the first possession and built up as much as a 14-point advantage, before the Pioneers cut the lead to six and the half, 39-33.

Manatee build their lead back to double digits several times during the second half, but IRSC would not go away.  The Pioneers pulled to within one with 12 minutes remaining, 54-53, when Mark-Anthony McReed converted two free-throws after he stole the ball and was fouled on a lay-up attempt.  Manatee again build the lead back to 13, but with tough defense the Pioneers clawed their way back into the ball game.  With 46 seconds remaining Linton Brown drove the middle and scored, leaving IRSC down one, 81-80.  Manatee converted two free-throws giving them an 85-82 advantage, but A.J. Cajuste drove straight to the basket and scored again cutting the lead to one, 85-84 with 11.5 seconds left in the game.  IRSC was forced to foul and Manatee converted the free-throws to seal the win, 88-84. 

Cajuste had a big game for the Pioneers with 19 points, five assists, six rebounds and 3 steals.  Other strong performances for IRSC were Brown with 19 points and nine rebounds, Antrell Charlton with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Abdoulaye Thiam tossed in 12 points for the cause.  The loss dropped the Pioneers record to 9-2 overall and 4-2 in the Southern Conference.  They will be back on the court Tuesday, March 2^nd for a home contest with Game Changer Academy.  The game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m.