Men's basketball team beats Indian River State College at state tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's basketball used a 13-0 run in the second half to defeat Indian River State College 68-56 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the FCSAA State Tournament in Niceville, Florida.

The Titans advanced to Friday's semifinals of the tournament for the second straight year, playing No. 12 Tallahassee who defeated the State College of Florida-Manatee on Wednesday.

Down 37-31 a minute into the second half, the Titans responded with a 13-0 run that lasted over five minutes. Indian River cut the lead to five but a couple of big 3-pointers from Jonathan Ned gave the Titans an 11-point lead. From there Indian River State College never got closer than nine points as the Titans used a strong defense to hold the Pioneers seven 3-pointers, five below their season average.

"I am just so proud of the guys for their effort on defense and their effort rebounding," Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman said. "I didn't think we came out real strong in the first half, but we talked about it at halftime. We have been off for a little bit and we weren't as focused as we needed to be. In the second half we clamped down and we guarded well, we executed on offense and I am just so proud of the guys."

Johnny Bernard tied his career high with 18 points to lead all scorers in the game while teammate Brian Dugazon finished with 15 points.

The Titans improved to 22-10 on the season with the win and will play Tallahassee Community College at 4 p.m. EST Friday in Niceville.