The Chipola men's basketball team hit the road for the first time this season and brought back a pair of wins over Georgia schools in the Dana Davis Classic in Rome, Georgia.
The #8 Indians used their best shooting night of the season to overcome the host team, Georgia Highlands, 92-82 on Friday then followed that with a 78-61 win over Central Georgia Tech.
Tuesday night, the Indians will be back at The Milt when they take on South Georgia Tech at 7 PM. Doors will open at 6 PM and fans can get in free by bringing a canned good to the game. Donations of canned goods will go to local charities.
Chipola vs. Georgia Highlands, November 11, 2022
Coach Donnie Tyndall got a couple of 19-point performances, one from a starter and the other off the bench, to take down a tough Georgia Highlands squad on Friday night.
Sophomore Jamil Safieddine was 5-for-7 from the field, including a perfect 4 of 4 from three point range, and freshman, JC Curry, was 6 of 10 from the floor and also nailed four shots from long range.
Jerald Colonel came up a rebound shy of a double-double but tallied 14 points, his highest output of the young season.
Deyton Albury was 3-for-6 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the charity stripe to join the others in double digits with 13 points.
After trailing by four at the half, the Indians came out of the locker room and used a 14-3 run to take a 49-42 lead and never look back. Chipola led by as many as 18 before cruising to the 92-82 win.
For the game, Chipola shot 55.6 percent from the floor and from the three point line while holding their opponents to 44.6 percent.
The Indians fought through foul trouble in their first true road game of the year. Two starters, Safieddine and Paul Greene fouled out and Derrick Butler had four.
"This was our first true road game and I thought our guys really competed," said Tyndall. "We lost some guys to foul trouble but I tell our guys that's life on the road. You gotta be able to play through things like that, especially on the road, to beat quality teams, and we did just that."
Chipola vs. Central Georgia Tech, November 12, 2022
Derrick Butler had 18 points and Jamil Safieddine had another big night with 16 points as the #8 Indians moved to 5-0 with a 78-62 win over the Titans of Central Georgia Tech.
JC Curry had another big night coming off the bench, scoring 14 while shooting 5-for-7 from the field.
The Indians jumped out in front of the Titans early in the first ten minutes of the game, racing out to to a 24-9 lead and led by as many as 20.
Central Georgia Tech fought back in the second half, outscoring Chipola 38-37 in the final twenty minutes.
After the game Coach Tyndall talked about the team's lack of intesity, "After a hard fought game yesterday, we had a little bit of a letdown mentally. Our defensive intensity was not there."
"I tell our guys all the time, you only get 30 cracks at this (games in a season). You can't waste an opportunity."
Coach Tyndall also looked ahead to the Indians' upcoming opponent, "South Georgia Tech is a really good team. They've already beaten a team from our league (Gulf Coast, 79-74 on November 1)."
"We understand it's going to be a tough game on Tuesday. We certainly hope we'll have a great crowd come out and support us."