TCC gets at-large berth in juco national tournament

Yahel Hill came off the bench to score 11 points for the Eagles, nine of them
coming on three-pointers in the Eagles’ second game in the state tournament.
Photo by Greg Rowland

Special to the Outlook

It just seemed deserving after one of the most impressive seasons in the history of men’s basketball  at Tallahassee Community College.

For two days the Eagles had to wait until Monday afternoon when they found out that they have locked up a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s national tournament. They will open play as the 12th seed next Wednesday against Shelton State, the 21st seed, in Hutchinson, Kan.

Making it to the national tournament is where coach Zach Settembre intended to take the Eagles (27-6), but he figured they’d win the state tournament to get there. That didn’t happen because of a 71-63 loss to Gulf Coast State College, 71-63, in Saturday’s FCSAA championship game. 

So the Eagles waited until Monday when their name flashed across the screen at a viewing party on campus.

In the championship game, Tallahassee found itself in an early 16-point hole before finally settling in. The Eagles closed the first half strong and trailed by just one, 35-34, at the half.

Tallahassee took its largest lead of the night, 48-44, with 13:50 left in the game, but the Commodores used a 16-5 run to regain momentum, and the Eagles didn’t have an answer.

El Ellis scored 12 points to lead Tallahassee. Tariq Silver added 11 and Jordan Guest, 10.

Silver, Kailex Stephens and Yahel Hill were named to the all-tournament team.

TCC opened the state tournament with a 67-59 victory over State College of
Florida.
Photo by Christopher Wallace

The Eagles had gotten to the state championship final behind a record-breaking defensive effort for a 49-43 victory over Eastern Florida State College.

The 34 points allowed is a school-record for postseason play for Tallahassee, eclipsing the 39 points scored by Howard (Texas) College in the 2006 NJCAA Tournament quarterfinals. 

Entering last Friday’s game, Eastern Florida State (63.0) and Tallahassee (64.1) were 1-2 in Region 8 in points allowed per game. That storyline played out for both teams in the opening half, which ended with the Eagles in front, 19-17. 

Tallahassee altered the script in the second half. 

Eastern Florida State grabbed a 24-21 lead with 14:42 left, then the Eagles exploded for a 28-4 run. They scored 13 unanswered before an Osayi Osifo jumper ended a 4:49 scoring drought for the Titans. Another 7:35 ticked off the clock before Eastern Florida State hit another shot from the field. They managed only a pair of free throws during that stretch, which yielded a 49-28 lead for the Eagles. 

After shooting just 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) in the first half, the Eagles knocked down 12-of-23 shots (52.2 percent) in the second stanza, including 6-of-14 threes. 

Tariq Silver, who hit a three at the first half buzzer, knocked down two more after halftime and finished with 12 points to lead Tallahassee. Yahel Hill had another solid performance off the bench, connecting on three three-pointers and finished with 11 points.