Flowers' Double-Double Leads Indians To Win

November 29, 2007

By Chipola Staff

So this is what a nail biter looks like.

After starting the season with nine wins, all by double-digits, most thought Chipola would get win number ten in much the same fashion.

After all, the top ranked Indians had defeated Lawson State on the Cougars home floor by 61 points just two weeks ago.

But tonight, Chipola needed a few last second free-throws and a huge game from freshman Gary Flowers to finish off a feisty Lawson State team 72-65 in front of the home crowd in Marianna, Florida.

“We’re lucky Gary Flowers was in a Chipola uniform tonight,” said Chipola coach Greg Heiar. “Because if he wasn’t, who knows what the outcome would have been. He almost had a triple-double. He was a monster on the boards, he blocked shots, ran the court, defended. He did a lot of really good things.”

The forward from the Lone Star state appeared to be just that, the lone star, for most of the evening. Flowers scored a game high 17 points and hauled in a career high 15 rebounds, logging his 2nd double-double on the season.

“A couple of weeks ago we had a challenge from our coaches to step it up from our frontcourt and get more rebounds,” said Flowers. “I just took it as a personal goal to get more rebounds every game. Since then, I’ve done a great job of going to the boards and crashing hard, getting the rebounds that we need at the right time.”

And the right time for Chipola came with the game still hanging in the balance. Flowers pulled in one of his four offensive rebounds after a missed free-throw with just 0:20 seconds remaining. After a Lawson State foul, the Indians were able to sink two free-throws to stave off any chance of an upset.

Perhaps equally as impressive as the job Flowers did on the boards, though, was the way he controlled the paint defensively. He set a career high for blocked shots, with 7, while swatting away two key three-on-one fastbreak opportunities late in the game.

“He saved our guards a lot on penetration,” said Heiar. “It was a great performance by Gary. He’s come a long way as a player and as a person. I’m just really proud of him.”

Contrary to the stellar play of Flowers was Chipola’s inability to take care of the basketball. The Indians committed 21 turnovers, including 12 in the second half. Five of those came down the stretch as Lawson State cut into a onetime 18 point lead, managing to get within 4 points with just 0:45 seconds to play in the game.

“We had a lot of turnovers,” said Flowers, “but we still came out with a win. It’s always positive to get a win.”

Sophomore Malik Alvin was the only other Indian to hit double digits in scoring. He had 11 points and a game high 5 assists, while making his second career start at Chipola.

Sophomores Mario Little and Clevin Hannah each scored 9 points in the win. Little also accounted for 8 rebounds.

The Indians continue play tomorrow evening, serving as the nightcap of the first day of the Panhandle Classic. Chipola takes on Coastal Georgia at 8:00 pm CST.