Men's basketball team defeats St. Petersburg in state tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's basketball team advanced to the FCSAA State Tournament semifinals Thursday night for the sixth time under head coach Jeremy Shulman.

The Titans defeated St. Petersburg in the quarterfinals 66-57 and will play the top seed and No. 9 ranked Chipola College Friday night at 9 p.m. EST.

On Thursday the Titans used a stifling defense to go on a 13-0 run in the first half to take a 30-10 lead late in the first half and went into halftime with a 32-16 lead.

The Titans, who are now 18-4 on the season, would lead by as many as 28 points with seven minutes remaining but St. Petersburg fought until the end, cutting the lead to eight at one point.

But two free throws from Brody Boyer solidified the win for the Titans, who are going to the semifinals for the third straight season.

Nick Alves led the offensive attack with 20 points, marking the third straight game he has scored at least 20 points. Teammate Christyon Eugene finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Boyer had 11 points, Vlad Salaridze had nine points and six rebounds and Markus Harding finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Chipola College and Eastern Florida State College have met in the state tournament semifinals three times and all three times the Titans have come out on top. Chipola College is now 19-4 on the season after defeating Gulf Coast in the quarterfinals, 84-58.