IRSC Men Defeat Florida Southwestern In Top 10 Matchup
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Florida Southwestern State College (19-4, 6-2) | 41 | 37 | 78 |
|
Indian River State College (23-2, 8-0) | 41 | 42 | 83 |
Fort Pierce, Florida – In a matchup between to National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) "Top 10" teams the #2 ranked Pioneers defeated the #10 ranked Florida Southwestern College 83-78. This was the second meeting between the two Southern Conference foes with Indian River State College (IRSC) winning the first game in overtime by the exact same score, 83-78.
Florida Southwestern jumped on IRSC from the tip and took an early 13-4 lead, but IRSC continued to attack the basket and tied the score at 24 on an A.J. Cajuste layup. The remainder of the half saw each team trading baskets as the score was knotted at 41 at the half.
The second half saw several lead changes before the Pioneers went on a 14-2 run capped off by a Cajuste steal and lay-up making the score 67-56. IRSC pushed the lead to 14, 74-60 with 6:29 remaining in the game, but Florida Southwestern kept chipping away at the lead and pulled to within two points, 78-76 with 20 seconds left in the contest. Florida Southwestern quickly fouled Jonathan Cisse sending him to the line for a 1 and 1 free-throw opportunity. Cisse hit the first free-throw giving IRSC a three-point lead 79-76 but missed the second. Cajuste fouled the ballhandler sending Florida Southwestern to the line, but they were unable to capitalize, and the Pioneers were able to secure the rebound. Florida Southwestern was forced to foul, and IRSC took advantage hitting all four free-throws to come away with the 83-78 victory.
Jacob Tracey had a career high for the Pioneers with 21 points, and also pulled in 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Cajuste and Cisse both scored 19 with Kyle Feit and Benji Pierre adding 11 points in the win. Pierre had a team high 10 rebounds. It is a short turnaround for IRSC (23-2, 8-0 Southern Conference) as they have a conference match-up on Wednesday February 9th when they take on Hillsborough College on the Massey Campus in Fort Pierce, Florida with the game starting at 7:30 p.m. following the women's matchup.