NWF State men, women stay unbeaten

NICEVILLE – Undefeated weekends in non-conference play are old-hat for the basketball programs at NWF State.

Yet they’re never taken for granted by Steve DeMeo or Bart Walker, whose Raider crews remained undefeated this past weekend.

The men pulled down their biggest win of the season so far, defeating 12th-ranked Indian Hills 86-72 on the Warriors' home court in Iowa a day after beating State Fair 87-78. The former win ended Indian Hills' 41-game win streak at home.

Now DeMeo's crew is 11-0 and outscoring foes 101-80, its No. 1 national ranking looking as airtight as ever.

The women, meanwhile, did what they’ve done all season: Roll.

At the Florida College’s Women’s Basketball Shootout, they routed St. Petersburg 92-76 on Friday and then Daytona State 92-43 on Saturday.

Now Walker’s crew is 9-0 and outscoring foes 83-44, its No. 2 national ranking sure to rise with No. 1 New Mexico saddled with two losses.

So what’s going well for the programs?

The men have inarguably the nation’s most prolific offense.

They’re shooting 57 percent from the floor, 39 percent from beyond the arc and 79 percent from the charity stripe and have topped the century mark six times. The Raiders scored 100 or more points just five times last season.

The contributions have come from all over – Javion Hamlet (19 points and eight assists per game), Chris Duarte (22 points and nine rebounds), Eric Vila (11 points and six rebounds) and Noah Morgan and Tyrie Jackson (10 points each). Niceville alumnus Trey Diggs, Kayne Henry, Sam Baker and Anthony Mason each average between seven and nine points a night.

Defensively, the Raiders are forcing 15 turnovers per game and holding foes to 44 percent shooting. Only Miami Dade has topped the century mark in a Raiders blowout.

Speaking of defense, that’s the women’s calling card.

Walker’s crew is forcing 22 turnovers a game, posting a plus-19 rebounding margin a night and limiting foes to 28 percent shooting from the floor, 26 percent from beyond the arc and under 12 free throw attempts per game.

Cece Mayo, Leandra Echi, Georgia Gayle and Shania Meertens are each averaging two-plus steals a night for a run-and-gun crew that has turned those takeaways into 51 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent from 3.

Gayle leads the Raiders with 14.1 points a night, followed by Mayo’s 13.6, Jaiden McCoy’s 11.7 and Meertens’ 10.6. Meanwhile Awa Trasi is averaging nine points and seven rebounds a night, Echi eight points and five assists per game and Sherer 6.9 points a night.

So who's up next for the Raiders?

The women host ASA College Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Gadsden State Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

The men travel to Ocala to face Eastern Florida at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Florida Juco Shootout, followed by a 1 p.m. matchup with Florida Southwestern on Sunday.