Tallahassee's Hot Shooting from Beyond the Arc Burns NWF, Handing them Their Third Loss of the Season

NICEVILLVE, Fla. – Northwest Florida State men's basketball suffered another loss at home on Saturday, falling to Tallahassee 96-86.

Despite the Raiders shooting greater than 50% for the game and holding advantages over the Eagles in rebounds (+8), assists (+3) and steals (+1), NWF struggled to contain Tallahassee offence, allowing them to shoot 59% as a team, including 12 makes from three for a 63.2% clip.

The Raiders got solid production from their starters in the game. Jamal Sumlin and RaSheed Jones scored 21 points each. Tavion Banks recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Jadyn Shider nearly joined him with his eight points and eight rebounds for the game.

Meanwhile, Tallahassee saw a lot of its production come from its bench with over half of their points coming from bench players, including the game's leading scorer, Hayden Brittingham, producing 23 points with seven rebounds.

All three of the Raiders losses this season have come at home to teams residing in the state of Florida (Daytona, Chipola, Tallahassee), including two from their own conference. NWF will have a chance rebound from this loss next week as they get set to host Gulf Coast Saturday, February 10.

FIRST HALF

The first half was dominated by three-pointers, with both teams exchanging shots from beyond the arc to begin the game. RaSheed Jones got the Raiders off to a strong start, hitting his second three-pointer to give them an early 6-3 lead. However, the Eagles responded with three consecutive triples to take a two-point lead over the Raiders. Tallahassee then extended their lead to five with another three-pointer, making five of their first six attempts from long range. Joe Manning narrowed the Raiders' deficit to one with a three of his own, but the Eagles quickly answered with yet another three-pointer, bringing their total to six for the half.

RaSheed Jones reclaimed the lead for the Raiders with his third three-pointer with 6:32 remaining in the half. However, the Eagles countered with a layup and another three-pointer, pushing their lead to four points at 34-30 with just over five minutes left until halftime. They added another make from three with less than two minutes remaining, followed by a layup to end the scoring for the first half. Tallahassee went into break with a 45-36 lead over the Raiders.

SECOND HALF

Tallahassee established their first double-digit lead of the game just 2:48 into the second half, courtesy of a layup from Langstaff. Hayden Brittingham added to the Eagles' advantage with a dunk five minutes into the second half, pushing their lead to 12 points. The Eagles reached their largest lead of the game at the 13:15 mark after sinking another three-pointer, securing a 58-43 edge. Despite Jamal Sumlin's efforts, who brought the Raiders' deficit back to ten with a pair of layups and an and-one free throw, the Eagles maintained control.

Tyrese Elliott narrowed the game to single digits with a layup, but the Eagles responded strongly by hitting back-to-back threes, re-establishing a 13-point cushion. Although the Raiders attempted a comeback with a couple of three-pointers, the Eagles consistently found answers. RaSheed Jones managed to trim the Raiders' deficit to single digits with a couple of late threes, but Tallahassee remained unfazed. Eventually, the deficit proved too insurmountable, and Tallahassee left Raider Arena with a 96-86 victory over NWF.

UP NEXT

Next week, the Raiders return home for another conference matchup against Gulf Coast on Saturday at 4:00 PM. They aim to recapture their momentum as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.