JACKSONVILLE — Polk State Basketball continues to fight, but unfortunately, wins continue to be elusive. The Eagles erased an early 15-point deficit on Saturday night but couldn't finish in a 72-69 loss to Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Florida State College raced to an early 17-4 lead and held a 28-13 advantage at one point in the first half. The Eagles (4-11) were able to get as close as one in the opening half.
Sparked by five points off the bench from
Adonys Christo, Polk State made it 35-34 on a 3-pointer from
Isaiah McCray. The Eagles trailed just 38-34 at the half.
Baskets by McCray and
Ethan Simon to open the second half tied the game at 38. FSCJ responded with an 11-0 run and never trailed again. Putting the Eagles away, however, proved to be no small task.
Down 63-57 late, Polk State drew to within one with a trey from McCray and two free throws from
Tre Jackson. Thomas Faucett responded with a big 3-pointer for the Manta Rays but the Eagles had multiple opportunities to tie the game.
Trailing 68-66, McCray was able to get to the rim with eight seconds left but was unable to finish or get the foul call. After hitting a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one with 1.4 seconds left,
Eric Dailey's tying 75-foot heave attempt at the buzzer was no good.
McCray led the Eagles with a career-high 31 points in the loss.
Josh Pitts added 12 points.
Polk State has been competitive in virtually every game but finding a way to finish has been difficult. The Eagles try to snap a nine-game losing streak when they hit the road for the first time in Citrus Conference play on Wednesday night at No. 9 Daytona State College.
