NWF State welcomes Tally for DH

NICEVILLE — The NWF State basketball programs are trending in opposite directions.

Bart Walker’s crew, ranked second in the state and seventh in the nation at 19-2, has lost two straight after jumping out to a 5-0 start in league play. Steve DeMeo’s men (21-2), meanwhile, have yet to drop a conference tilt at 7-0 and are ranked fourth in the country.

Yet both still control their own destiny in Panhandle Conference play entering tonight’s doubleheader against Tallahassee at The Arena.

For the women, both losses recently were respectable.

The first was a 63-58 defeat to fourth-ranked Gulf Coast State at The Arena. Then came a 53-49 setback at ninth-ranked Chipola.

Now the Raiders find themselves a half game back of the Commodores (18-3, 6-2) for the league lead and just a game ahead of ninth-ranked Chipola (19-4). Eleventh-ranked Tallahassee (21-4), meanwhile, is still in the hunt at 3-4 in conference play.

Of course the Raiders could all but eliminate the Eagles from Panhandle contention if tonight’s 5:30 p.m. tip follows a similar script of the team’s first meeting — a 70-63 road win for NWF State.

In that tilt the Raiders outscored the Eagles 39-29 in the second half, got a combined 32 points from Jaiden McCoy (18 and eight rebounds) and Georgia Gayle (14 and nine boards) and celebrated a 47-38 edge on the glass

Defensively the Raiders held the Eagles to 30 percent shooting and a 4-for-22 clip from beyond the arc, a theme during a season where NWF State has limited foes to less than 52 points per game.

The Raiders have missed that premier scoring presence this season, yet the depth of five players averaging double-figure points has more than filled that void.

“Sixth man” Cece Mayo leads the team with 12.8 points to accent 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game, followed by Gayle with 12 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals a night.

Highlighting NWF State’s frontcourt has been McCoy (11.4 points and 6.3 rebounds) and Awa Trasi (10 points and 7.2 boards), while Shania Meertens averages 10.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals.

Point guard Leandra Echi, meanwhile, is the glue to the transition-minded offense, filling up the stat sheet with 6.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists (third in the country), 3.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

Depth has also been a staple for the NWF State men, yet they’ve leaned on a few proven stars.

Oregon-bound Chris Duarte leads the Raiders with 19.8 points (56 percent shooting) to accent 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, while point guard Javion Hamlet averages 17.6 points (62 percent), 6.2 assists and 3.3 rebounds.

Eric Vila has especially shined in conference play, the 6-11 center bound for UTEP averaging a nightly double-double with 13.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The return of big man Ludgy Debaut hasn’t slowed down the sophomore Spaniard, Vila averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds in Debaut’s last three starts.

Rounding out a versatile, run-and-gun offense has been Noah Morgan (nine points) Tyrie Jackson (8.3 points), Niceville alumnus Trey Diggs (7.3 points) and Kayne Henry (6.6 points). Diggs has especially shined over the last four games, averaging 10 points on 48 percent shooting and two treys a night on a 42-percent clip.

The Raiders enter tonight’s 7:30 tipoff at The Arena with a two-game league cushion on 11th-ranked Chipola (22-3, 5-2) and a three-game lead on 18th-ranked Tallahassee, which they beat 75-71 in the teams’ first meeting.

Pensacola State and Gulf Coast State have been mathematically eliminated from conference contention.