Chipola Wins State Basketball Championship

Chipola College captured the 2021 FCSAA State/NJCAA Region VIII Men's Basketball Championship with an 88-75 victory over Indian River State College on April 10.

The Chipola women’s team also won the 2021 State Tournament on April 10. The year 2014 was the last time both Chipola teams won the state championship.

Chipola now has 14 men’s state titles, more than any other college in Florida.

With the win, the Indians punched their ticket to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship in Hutchinson, KS.

Chipola advanced to the finals with wins over Gulf Coast and Eastern Florida State. Indian River State got past Florida State College and Florida SouthWestern to set up a meeting of the tournament's top two seeds.

Chipola took control early and carried a 50-35 lead to the intermission. The Indians' lead grew to as much as 23 with 14:00 remaining in the game, and they held the lead for all but 2:57 of the game.

Tournament MVP Jaeden Zackary scored 21 points and dished out five assists for Chipola. Zachary joined three fellow Chipola players on the All-Tournament Team—Lance Erving, Carlos Lemus and Nae’qwan Tomlin. Lemus led the Indians with 27. Tomlin had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

First-year Chipola Coach Donnie Tyndall was named FCSAA Coach of the Year.

The Indians will play in the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, KS, April 19-24. Chipola’s first game in the national tourney is Wednesday, April 21, at 8 p.m. CST, against the winner of Shelton State and Northeastern. The double-elimination tourney runs through April 24 with the championship game set for 6 p.m.

For more information, visit: www.njcaa.org or www.chipolaathletics.com.