Men's Basketball Starts The Season Undefeated

The Indian River State College Pioneers Men's Basketball Team opened the 23-24 season with a sweep of their opponents in 3^rd Annual Pioneer Classic.

IRSC started the season off by topping Southwest Tennessee Community College 96-88. The Pioneers were led by a trio of 20 point scorers including sophomore Mostapha El Moutaouakkil (23), sophomore Mykol Sanchez (21) and 22-23 First Team All-American Jayshayne Woodard (21). SWTN was led by Nick Woodard with 24 points.

Coach Morosco after the game: "Southwest Tennessee gave us everything they had and Coach Stephens really had them prepared for this game. I'm glad our guys were able to respond to some early adversity and find a way to win which is critical in the early part of the season."

The second game of the Pioneer Classic faced IRSC off against Florida Gateway, a team with championship-pedigree having earned bids to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament the past 3 seasons. In a game that was close throughout, IRSC was able to pull away late in the second half, securing a 100-88 victory. The Pioneers were led by El Moutaouakkil with 28 points, Sanchez with 21 and sophomore Deng Majak with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Coach Morosco after the game: "Florida Gateway is a championship level program. They bring back a lot of experienced players who are used to coming big in big games. We had some foul trouble in the first half and Mo really helped keep us in the game. In the second half, we really picked up our defensive and rebounding effort and that's when we made our run."