Indians Fall In Season Finales

By Clint Cox

The Chipola Men’s and Women’s basketball squads saw their respective seasons come to a close this past Saturday night in Tallahassee as both team fell in the final Panhandle Conference games of the season. In the ladies contest Chipola fell 73-63. Chipola hung close with the Lady Eagles as they trailed by just one point at the half, 28-27. In that first half there were four ties and 12 lead changes. But after Tallahassee too a 37-34 lead in the second half the Lady Eagles then ripped off 10 unanswered points to see their lead swell to 13 points. Chipola managed to cut it back to a five point game on a 3 pointer from Ance Celmina with seven minutes to play but TCC then went on another 10-0 run to seal the victory. Bianca Jarrett once again led the way for Chipola with 32 points. Celmina added 12 points and Ty O’Neil chipped in 10. The Lady Indians finished the season with a 1-11 record in conference play and 11-17 record overall.

In the men’s game the Indians led for much of the game but the Eagles rallied from a 7 point deficit in the final five minutes of the game to pick up a 67-64 win. The Indians were trailing 17-15 in the first half when they went on a 9-1 run to take a 24-18 lead. TCC chipped away at that lead but the Indians still held a 26-20 lead at the half. Chipola pushed that lead to as many as nine points in the opening moments of the second half before the Eagles went on a 14-4 run and reclaimed the lead. Chipola turned right around and went on their own 14-4 run to take a 53-44 lead midway through the second half. The Eagles battled back to tie the game at 57-57 with seven minutes to play. Down the stretch the Eagles took the lead and although Chipola pulled to within a point several times, they could not overtake Tallahassee. The Eagles hit some key free throws in the final minute and a Dexter Ellington shot at the buzzer that would have tied the game was off the mark. The Indians were led by Keith Dewitt with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Chipola finished 4-8 in conference play and 19-9 overall.