The Commodores men’s basketball team traveled to Niceville this weekend for a matchup with the East Central Warriors. It was a tale of two halves in the nail-biting 75-73 win for the Commodores. A slow start to the game led to head coach Phil Gaffney burning one of his timeouts just two minutes in. This proved to be a smart decision, as Gulf Coast went on a 6-0 run out of the break. Despite this, the Commodores had to go to the locker room down 41-29, with Freshman forward Tank Washington scoring 9 first half points.
The Commodores looked like a new team in the second half, roaring back with a 13-2 run cutting the Warriors’ lead to 1 with six minutes left in the game. Freshman guard Jamari Piercy gave the Commodores their first lead since early in the first half with a tough 3-point play. After the Warriors were able to tie the game back up, Freshman guard Andre Young sealed the win for the Commodores with 2 clutch free throws with 5 seconds left in the game. Tank Washington was instrumental in the win, finishing with 15 points and 5 rebounds. After the game, Sophomore Mi’Kis Engram summed up the comeback win stating, “We all locked in at halftime… we were more aggressive in the second half, and we made more shots.”
The Commodores finish their road trip 2-0 and remain undefeated on the season at 3-0. They will look to continue their winning ways on Thursday at home against South Georgia State.
