Gulf Coast advances to FCSAA State Tournament with Triple OT Thriller

February 22, 2020

(Panama City, FL) – Picture this, on the 40th anniversary of Team USA Men’s Hockey “Miracle on Ice” victory over the USSR (I still get chills), fast forward and change venues from Lake Placid, NY to Panama City, FL. Change sports from hockey to basketball. Gulf Coast State College (RV) was trailing #9 ranked Tallahassee CC by two after DeAndre Gholston put the Eagles up 107-105. With 1.7 seconds left in the THIRD overtime, and a full 94 feet to get to the basket, GC needed a miracle of it’s own. A Dores loss would end their season short of reaching the FCSAA State Tournament. A season which began so promising, had almost faded in the distance. A distance of 94 feet. A long way to go, in just a short amount of time. The perfect set up, right?

Gulf Coast State’s 6’6″ Sophomore Guard Maurice “Mo” Gordon (Macon, GA) wasn’t the primary target to get the ball on the final play. According to Gordon, the play set up during the subsequent time out was designed for someone else to receive Kevon Godwin’s inbound pass for the final shot. But that player was not open, so Godwin, running deep into the five second count, fired a desperation line drive pass that Gordon caught a few feet in back court. Already moving toward the front court, Mo took two dribbles and launched his own desperation heave from about 40 feet. 40 years, forty feet, coincidence….maybe. As the horn was sounding, the ball caromed off the backboard, skimmed the rim, then found the bottom of the net. Game over. The drought was over. Who needs mo time, it WAS “MO” time. And, for the first time since 2009, the Gulf Coast State College Men’s Basketball team was heading to the FCSAA State Tournament. With that, comes the chance to qualify for the NJCAA National Tournament. For the record, 1972 was the last time Gulf Coast men made an appearance at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS, the site of the tournament.

In a gutty performance, Gulf Coast had four players in double figures during the 55 minute marathon. Three Sophomore starters, Cam Holden 6’5″ Guard, Gordon, and 6’1″ Guard Jacolbey Owens tallied 24, 22, and 21 points respectively. Gordon also contributed 10 rebounds and Owens handed out 8 assists. 5’11 Freshman Jammy Pierre-Louis came off the bench to nail 7 of 9 three pointers on his way to 21 points. Five of those treys came in the second half as the Commodores erased an 18 point deficit in the final 7:44 of regulation. Tallahassee was led by Tariq Silver with 23 points while El Ellis added 21 plus 6 assists. TCC led by three at intermission, and the game was knotted at 80 at the end of regulation. Each team scored 10 in the first extra period, and four in the second, with GCSC out-pointing the Eagles 14-13 in the final 5 minute overtime period to get the win.

Unlike the national recording artist Commodores hit song, “Easy,” everything has been just about the opposite, at least recently for the Panama City Commodores. First year Head Coach Phil Gaffney (a blue ribbon pedigree transfer from nearby Georgia Highlands College) had things looking up early going 12-3 before the calendar changed to 2020. Things were still going well in January, but shortly after their road conquest at Tallahassee on January 18, Head Coach Phil Gaffney suffered a heart attack. He has not returned to the bench, and is not expected back anytime soon. The team however, led by assistant coach Scott Jackson, held things in check. With Gaffney recovering from medical procedures, the Commodores completed a 6-1 month of January, and began the final month of the regular season at 19-4, climbing as high as 12th in the top 25 poll.

Then came February, when it appeared that all of their issues were starting to take it’s toll on the team. In addition to Gaffney’s health issues, the team had been experiencing some injuries as well as the suspension of one of their starters. Before Saturday’s game against TCC, Gulf Coast had won only twice out of their last five games, losers of two in a row. First to Pensacola State College (who swept the season series with GC), and most recently to Chipola College, both Conference opponents. A win in either of those two games would’ve clinched a second place finish and birth in the State tournament, avoiding the drama and pressure of coming from 18 points down to beat the second highest ranked Florida team, on the last night of the regular season, with a buzzer beater from just inside the half court line.

A one game playoff was lurking with a Gulf Coast loss to TCC and a Pensacola State win over Northwest Florida. Pensacola held up their end, but Gordon’s heroics eliminated all doubt. Pensacola, even with their two wins over Gulf Coast, will sit out this years State Playoffs. Gulf Coast moves on. “Our guys have been through a lot of adversity, with coach Gaffney and one of our player situations,” stated acting coach Scott Jackson, “We needed something good to happen for us, and it did with that shot.”

Despite all of the “good” that comes with “that shot,” things don’t get any easier for GCSC. Although I don’t think you’d find any of the Commodores players or coaches feeling sorry for themselves. First round pairings for the State Tournament are finalized. They draw the Suncoast Conference Champ, Florida SouthWestern State College (29-1), who just happens to be none other than the #1 ranked team in the nation, and winners of 22 straight. So what! Better than not even making the tournament, right? Those two will square off in game 2 on Tuesday, March 3, at 3:00 (EST) in Niceville. Meanwhile, #9 Tallahassee CC, will battle Polk State College (20-9), the Suncoast runner-up, in game 3 at 6:00 on the same day. (credits to Panama City News Herald Sports Editor Dustin Kent for contributing to some of the content in this story)