Chipola Impresses in Road Victories

By: Dustin Kent – JCFloridan.com

The No. 7 Chipola Indians added two more victories this week in Tuscaloosa, Ala., beating Lawson State 85-71 on Monday and Shelton State 81-70 on Tuesday.

With the wins, the Indians moved to 6-0 on the season.

In Monday's win, it was Demetrious Floyd's 29 points that led the way, as Chipola overcame an early 19-6 deficit to take a 47-40 halftime lead and pull away in the second half.

Carlos Morris added 15 points for Chipola.

"We came out very flat," Indians coach Patrick Blake said. "It was a long day of travel for us and Lawson did a great job of coming out and making the first statement. But our guys stayed cool and calm and just kept plugging away. They did a great job of not panicking, and just stuck to the game plan and we were able to come out with a win."

The Indians then faced an even bigger challenge in host school and 12th-ranked Shelton State, but after a close early going, Chipola finished the first half strong to take a 50-35 lead into the break.

Shelton State got as close as eight in the second half, but the Indians held off the hosts to secure the win.

Kruize Pinkins had 20 points to lead Chipola, with Morris adding 17, and Cinmeon Bowers putting in 14 points and 15 rebounds.

"I thought we played a great game," Blake said. "Shelton State is very deserving of its ranking. They're a great team. They played 13 guys and pressed for 40 minutes. They have to be one of the most athletic teams in the country. I think Shelton is definitely the best team we've played so far. It really took a complete team effort to win.

"I was proud of our guys that they competed and played hard and overcame a lot of adversity playing a top 15 team in the country on the road. The effort and energy we brought to this game is something we need every day. We need to have that focus level in practice to continue to get to where we need to be to reach our goals."

The Indians made 6-of-13 from the three-point line.

Chipola will next travel to Niceville for the Northwest Florida Rick Flores Classic where it will play Lee College on Friday and Columbia State on Saturday.