Second-half struggles costly for Gators

The Virginia Peninsula Community College men's basketball team dropped to 1-2 after losing 86-80 to the College of Southern Maryland on Friday, Nov. 7, at SafeHaven Empowerment Center. The game was taped and will be shown on Sky4 television Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.

VPCC took a 47-27 halftime lead behind 13 points from Jayden Sepulveda (Landstown High School) and 12 from Monte Gatlin (Churchland). However, the visiting Hawks made adjustments at halftime that stymied the Gators. Sepulveda finished with a team-high 15 points, Jordan Watlington (Menchville) had 14 (10 in the second half), Gatlin 13 and Chris Cyrus (Hampton Christian Academy) 10.

The Gators struggled putting the ball in the basket after halftime. They hit six 3-pointers in the first half but just one in the second. At the line, the Gators were 5 of 7 in the opening 20 minutes but 14 of 21 in the final 20 minutes.

Coincidentally, the Gators defeated Johnston Community College by the same score Nov. 2 in its home-opener, one day after losing the season-opener 81-80 to Louisburg College (N.C.)

Jakobe Reed, a sophomore guard from Woodside High School, scored 22 points for the Gators against JCC. Cyrus added 13 points, and Emmanuel Angila (Kempsville) had 11. The game was played in front of about 100 spectators at SafeHaven Empowerment Center in Newport News.

The Gators never trailed after taking a 3-1 lead on their first 3-pointer of the game. They used an 11-0 run to take a 36-18 lead and led 43-29 at halftime.

The Jaguars came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Gators 28-16 to close to 59-57 with 12:22 remaining in the game. Johnston was down 63-61 with just under 10 minutes left and trailed 78-73 with 2:24. But Cyrus, a sophomore guard, answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner after Reed drove the lane and kicked it out, giving the Gators an 81-73 lead. They made just enough free throws (5 of 10) down the stretch for the win. All 12 players who got in the game for the Gators scored.

In their season-opening loss, the Gators trailed by 10 with about seven minutes left but went on a 10-0 run to tie the game. They had the ball down one in the closing seconds but couldn't pull out the victory.

For more information on the College, visit www.vpcc.edu. For more on athletics, go to www.vpccgators.com.