by Allyson Doty
Only six points made the difference as Pensacola State College’s men’s basketball team lost their conference-opening game Wednesday, January 9, to Gulf Coast State College, 75-70.
PSC sought to dominate the Commodores and ensure an early conference lead, but were execute for the win.
“I felt like we were not tough enough,” PSC’s head coach, Pete Pena, announced after the game.
Sophomore Devin Wilson, from Gainesville, Fla., opened the game with the first points, including a shot for three and planted it on the board with ease. Seconds later, he scored another three-pointer giving PSC the lead 6-0.
Not long after, GCSC put up two points.
The battle continued throughout the first half evenly-matched, and it ended with GCSC taking the lead by one point, 30-29.
PSC came out at the second half playing as swiftly as the first half, but they continued to have a difficult time keeping up with the Commodores.
With nine minutes left in the game, PSC’s Dawud Salaam made four consecutive free throws that put the pirates up by two.
As the last minutes of the game dwindled down, GCSC stayed in the lead by three.
The Pirates could not pass the Commodores in the last seconds of the game. PSC lost 75-70.
“I felt like they were the veteran team,” expressed Pena. “They were tougher, and they pushed us around. We allowed ourselves to get bullied early on, and we need to get tougher if we want to get them next time.”
PSC will face Tallahassee Community College at PSC Saturday, January 19. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.