BRADENTON, Fla. - New College of Florida Men's Basketball shot 66.7 percent from the field and placed five players in double figures Thursday night, defeating Baptist University of Florida 113-70 at Bradenton Christian School.
The Mighty Banyans improved to 1-1 with their first victory of the season, scoring 66 points in the paint and getting 62 points from their bench.
Will Murphree led NCF with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Giovanni Toscanini and Cyncier Harrison added 17 points apiece, while Zachary Chambers finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jonathan Olodude contributed 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Dezmond McKinney handed out six of NCF's 27 assists, and Toscanini added five.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Carson McCormick knocked down a 3-pointer for NCF's first basket before Chambers scored on consecutive layups to give the Mighty Banyans a 7-4 lead.
Toscanini followed with back-to-back fast-break layups, and Ricardo Corvil connected from beyond the arc to extend the advantage to 14-4 with 14:31 remaining in the first half.
NCF shot 71.9 percent from the field in the opening half, making 23 of its 32 attempts. Chambers and Murphree each scored 11 points before the break, while Harrison added 10 as the Mighty Banyans took a 54-39 lead into halftime.
Toscanini opened the second-half scoring with two free throws and a layup. Ty Townsend later connected on a 3-pointer to push the lead to 61-41.
Baptist Florida trimmed the margin to 14 before Chambers answered with a dunk. Corvil and McKinney added layups, and NCF soon put together a decisive stretch to pull away.
Leading 67-50, the Mighty Banyans scored 12 consecutive points, getting baskets from Harrison, McKinney, Murphree and Olodude to build a 79-50 advantage with 11:15 remaining.
NCF continued to extend its lead as Toscanini and Harrison connected from beyond the arc and Olodude scored repeatedly inside.
Murphree's 3-pointer with 5:23 remaining pushed the Mighty Banyans past the century mark at 102-64. Ace Walker later made two free throws to give NCF its largest lead of the night, 113-67, with 1:47 to play.
THE TURNING POINT
NCF's 12-0 run midway through the second half stretched a 17-point lead to 29 and put the game out of reach.
Five Mighty Banyans scored during the stretch, which began with Harrison's layup at the 13:21 mark and ended with Olodude's basket with 11:15 remaining. McKinney contributed two baskets during the run.
BY THE NUMBERS
113
Points scored by the Mighty Banyans in their first win of the season.
66.7
NCF's field goal percentage after making 44 of 66 attempts.
66
Points in the paint for the Mighty Banyans.
62
Points contributed by the NCF bench.
27
Assists recorded by NCF, led by McKinney's six.
STAT LEADERS
Points: Will Murphree - 22; Giovanni Toscanini - 17; Cyncier Harrison - 17; Zachary Chambers - 16; Jonathan Olodude - 12
Rebounds: Zachary Chambers - 9; Ricardo Corvil - 6; Ty Townsend - 5
Assists: Dezmond McKinney - 6; Giovanni Toscanini - 5; Cyncier Harrison - 4; Ty Townsend - 4
Steals: Will Murphree - 2
Blocks: Zachary Chambers - 1; Will Murphree - 1; Jonathan Olodude - 1; Ricardo Corvil - 1
UP NEXT: NCF will travel to Miami to face NCAA Division I Florida International University at 7 p.m. Monday. The contest will be an exhibition for the Mighty Banyans and a regular-season game for FIU.
