OCALA--The College of Central Florida men's and women's basketball teams went on the road for a crucial conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Heading into Saturday's match ups, both the men and women held a 1-1 series tie with FSCJ. A win for the women meant one step closer to clinching a third-straight state tournament appearance. For the men, it would solidify a state tournament spot and keep them in the hunt for another Mid-Florida Conference title.
The Lady Patriots took the Blue Wave into overtime, prevailing with a 72-67 win. Nicola Mathews drained a season-high six 3-pointers en rout to scoring a career-high 24 points. Amanda Melosky (15 points) and Kiarah Mallory (13 points) also finished in double figures for CF.
With the win, it put the Lady Patriots in a two-way tie for second place with FSCJ (6-5) with four conference games remaining.
The men followed with a win of their own, downing FSCJ 76-71. Ivan Gandia led all scorers with 15 points, while JB Kus (13 points), Paul Turner (11 points), and Malik Dunbar (10 points) also finished in double-digits on the night.
With the win, the Patriots sit at 5-2 in the MFC and have at least secured second place in the conference and a trip to the state tournament for the 13th consecutive year.
The men have two conference games remaining, including a pivotal conference game against conference No. 1 Daytona State College on Wednesday evening at Patriot Gym. The Patriots need to beat the Falcons in order to keep their hopes of a conference title alive.