Pensacola State College (16-10, 5-4) hosted undefeated and #1 Northwest Florida State (25-1, 8-1) and defeated them 87-70 in a hard fought and physical battle. There were 7 ties and 12 lead changes (4 and 5 in the first half). Northwest led 42-39 at the half in what seemed like a one sided free throw contest. PSC was 6 for 7 and Northwest was 16 for 19.
In the second, there were three more ties and seven more lead changes. The Pirates took the lead for the last time, building an 11 point lead (66-55) with 8:01 to go. The Raiders made their last run to cut the lead to 5 (66-61) with 6:54 left but PSC outscored Northwest 13-5 over the last 3 minutes.
The Pirates were led by Daryl Lewis with 23 points and 4 rebounds and Willesley Butler with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Gerald Williams finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Montero Yeikson added 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Mike McDougal led with 7 assists.
The Raiders were led by Kelvin Robinson 17 points, Andres Feliz 16 points, Derek Funderburk 13 points and Tray Boyd 11 points.
The Pirates have now won 4 straight and are tied in the win column with Chipola College for second in the Panhandle Conference. The Pirates next travel to Gulf Coast on Saturday, Feb. 17. They will return home for the last home game v. Chipola on the 21st and finish up on the road to Tallahassee on the 24th.