Eagles Win Three Straight!

By Jason Mehl

Sports Information Director

The Toccoa Falls College men’s basketball team is enjoying 2010. Since returning from the break, the Eagles have won three straight games to boost their record to 9-5 (3-1 in the region).  With the new year have come a few fresh players who have already made valuable contributions to the team as TFC looks forward to the all-important region games remaining on the schedule.

TFC Men Play Strong

January 12, TFC hosted Warren Wilson College from Asheville, NC. The Eagles currently lead the nation in scoring defense (67.6 ppg allowed). Against Warren Wilson they combined this defense—backed by the nation’s leading shot blocker (7.3) and rebounder (12.7) Jachin Wettstone—with consistent offense and controlled the first half. They closed out the first half with a string of four unanswered 3-pointers—the first and last of those by new edition Joseph Murrey—and went into the locker room leading 41-27. But Warren Wilson didn’t quit and in the second half TFC struggled against their press and allowed the visitors to get back within 10 points with five minutes remaining in the second half. After a timeout, point guard Ryan McGarvey, in his first game of the season, orchestrated a few easy baskets and Wettstone continued to alter shots and the Eagles pulled away and won 76-60. Senior guards Chris Grover and Jon Rychner handled the scoring load with 21 and 20 pts respectively, while Wettstone had 13 and McGarvey added 11.

TFC traveled to Winston-Salem, NC on the January 14 to play Piedmont Baptist College, whom they defeated 74-51 in Toccoa the last game before Christmas. The road contest proved a little more difficult. First half foul trouble kept Wettstone on the bench for several minutes and Piedmont found holes in the TFC defense and led 44-41 at the half. But the Eagles came out of the locker room with renewed focus and energy and put together an 18-4 run to start the second half. They took control of the game and went on to win 90-82. Rychner led the team in scoring again with 29 points, followed by Wettstone (18), Nick Droll (15) and McGarvey (13).

The Eagles then hosted Trinity College of Florida on January 16. The first half of the game was a clinic in defense creating offense. The 6’ 9” Wettstone completely shut down Trinity’s 6’ 8” Tim Mitchell. Trinity kept getting the ball to their big man and Wettstone kept throwing attempts away (eight blocks) and collecting missed shots (11 rebounds). The Eagle defense created several easy shots for Rychner (27 points for the game), Grover (21) and company. The halftime lead was 41-22 and midway through the second half the lead reached 30 points. With 10 minutes remaining and the Eagle reserves handling the game, Trinity decided to press full court and forced several mistakes. The press, combined with a last-second 3-pointer from just across half-court made the final score respectable, 83-72, though the game was never in doubt.

Lady Eagles Add Two Strong Wins

The Lady Eagles lost their first game after the break but bounced back with two convincing wins.

TFC traveled to north to play the Piedmont Baptist College women on January 12 without two starters. Sophomore point guard Markesha Fondren is out for at least a month with a stress fracture in her foot and Senior Center Kelly Skelley (11 ppg) was out of the country on a mission trip. The Lady Eagles stayed with Piedmont in the first half, but a couple late mistakes sent them to the locker room down by 7, 32-39. The second half was an offensive struggle. The team made only 18 percent of its shots from the floor, and missed all 9 three-pointers attempted. Only Amanda Ferrell and Michaela Estill were able to score in the second half and TFC lost 45-62.  An encouraging performance by freshman Ferrell (14 pts, 13 rebounds) and 13 points from Estill were the only bright spot in an otherwise disappointing outing.

But the Lady Eagles bounced back at home against two JV teams from scholarship schools in Tennessee.  On the January 12, TFC beat Bryan College’s JV 70-40. The game was lopsided in every category. TFC built on its 36-12 half-time lead to finish with a 70-40 win. Freshman Sarah Colquitt stepped in and played well at point guard for the injured Fondren. Every player on the roster played heavy minutes and scored at least once. Ferrell again led the team with 15 points while grabbing 9 rebounds. Bonnie McGee added 13 points.  Michaela Estill, who leads the nation in steals with five per game, turned in another outstanding defensive performance and with her sixth steal of the game, broke the TFC record for career steals (316).

The next afternoon, in another lopsided contest, TFC beat Covenant College’s JV team 59-28.  Again, all nine Lady Eagles scored, led by McGee (16 pts), Colquitt (11) and Ferrell (10). Estill was outstanding again, piling up 10 steals, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

The TFC men play again at home against Crown College (1/26) and Wesley College (1/29), both games at 7:00 pm. The Lady Eagles are at home again against Wesley College (1/29) at 5:00 pm.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Current News, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.