Chipola Navigates Thru The River: Advances To State Finals

March 6, 2008

By Chipola Staff

Freshman Casey Mitchell scored 17 points in the first half, connecting on five 3pt field goals as the #2 Chipola Indians ran away with an 85-62 victory over Indian River on Friday night in the semi-finals of the FCCAA State Tournament.

Mitchell, who ended the night with an 8 of 11 shooting performance (6 of 9 3pt), led all scorers with a game high 22 points.

“I thought our energy and pressure created easy scoring opportunities during the opening ten minutes of the game,” said Chipola head coach Greg Heiar. “We were able to get some open looks and Casey did a great job of knocking them in.”

Chipola, who shot just 2 of 16 from the 3pt line in the opening round of the tournament, went 37% from deep, connecting on 10 of 27 from beyond the arc.

The Indians relied on their defense, creating 14 first half turnovers by Indian River, helping Chipola jump out to an early 38-18 lead during the first 12 minutes of the game.

“We did a really good job of slowing down their guards,” said Heiar. “We focused on keeping them out of the paint and making them shoot contested jumpers.”

The River, who entered the game averaging 79 points per contest, shot just 38% from the field while being harassed for 25 turnovers on the night.

Sophomore Malik Alvin scored 14 points and sophomore Mario Edwards added 11 points, helping Chipola improve to 31-1 on the season.

Sophomore Clevin Hannah and freshman Vernon Teel added 9 and 8 points, respectively. Teel also finished the night with a game high 5 assists and pulled down 5 rebounds for the Indians.

With the win, Chipola moves on to the Championship game of the FCCAA State Tournament, where they will play fellow Panhandle rival #6 Okaloosa-Walton (27-3).

The two teams have previously met this season three times, with each team holding serve on their home court.

The 5:00 pm CST tip can be seen live via webcast and also on the Dish Network, channel 9418.