Raiders rally for Panhandle win against Gulf Coast
2/7/2010 – Raiders rally for Panhandle win against Gulf Coast
By JOSH WEINFUSS Florida Freedom Newspapers
PANAMA CITY For 34 minutes Saturday night, every time Northwest Florida State caught up to Gulf Coast, the Commodores pulled away.
The Raiders finally caught them with 6 minutes left and refused to relinquish the lead for an 80-73 win in the Billy Harrison Field House.
"The game tonight was a game of two halves," Northwest Florida State coach Bruce Stewart said. "The first half was, I thought, our worst half this season. We were absolutely flat. I thought the second half we refocused and regrouped.
"Gulf Coast has a lot of good talent. They've got a lot of different guys that could put the ball in the hole."
Gulf Coast (15-10, 2-6 Panhandle Conference) led by six with 7:44 left in the game when Northwest Florida State made its final push. The Raiders (22-2, 17-1) came within 57-55 on a layup by Kahlil Owens and Sherrard Brantley hit a 3-pointer with 5:29 remaining to give them the lead.
The Commodores tied the game at 62 on a 3 by Travis Nichols with 4:07 left, only to see Brian Bryant give the Raiders their final lead on a trey with 3:44 on the clock.
"I was proud of the guys when (the Raiders) went zone, we remained patient," Gulf Coast coach Jay Powell said. "We hit a few 3s and made them go back to man."
Gulf Coast's Travis Nichols came off the bench to hit five 3-pointers, part of an 18-point night.
The final few minutes were decided from the free-throw line, as the Raiders hit eight of their last 10.
While Brian Bryant poured in 23, Gulf Coast struggled to defend Northwest Florida big man Toby Veal, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. Brantley had 13 and Michael Panaggio scored 11.
"It's a team win in the second half, but you got to tip your hat to Toby for his outstanding post play," Stewart said. "A 17-point half was indicative of how focused he was."
Saturday was Gulf Coast's first loss in three games. The Commodores took a 10-4 lead and led by as many as eight, 25-17, in the first half.
Gulf Coast's Willie Kirkland scored all 20 of his points in the final 20 minutes and Johnie Davis had 14.
"We talk daily and we stress in practice on focusing every second of every game," Powell said. "We were able to do that for the first 36 minutes but not the last 4. We just did not keep our focus defensively."