EFSC, Shelton State roll to set up New Year’s Eve men's basketball showdown

Eastern Florida State College and Shelton State both picked up big wins to set up a New Year's Eve showdown at the Josh Artis Memorial Crowne Plaza Classic on the Melbourne campus of Eastern Florida State College.

The No. 7 Titans opened the day of men's basketball with an 84-48 victory over Atlanta Metro and then Shelton State defeated the Florida National JV squad 112-62 in the second game of the day.

Eastern Florida State College, who improved to 13-1 on the season, came out strong on the defensive end keeping Atlanta Metro out of their offense and went into halftime holding a 43-14 advantage.

"I am very, very happy with our defensive effort today. We really guarded well, which makes me a happy coach," Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman said. "We are a very balanced team offensively and we put together a real unselfish effort overall."

Austin Awad led the Titans with 13 points while Kareem Brewton added 12 points. Noah Horchler finished with 11 points and Shaq Carter finished with 10 points.

Shelton State took the court in the second court and jumped out to a huge lead, holding Florida National JV to 10 points in the first half, holding a 58-10 lead.

Trenton Clayton led a balanced Shelton State attack with 17 points while Christopher Dudley and Austin Hardy each had 14. Tra'Quan Knight added 12 in the game for the Buccaneers.

Eastern Florida State College and Shelton State will meet in the final game of the Josh Artis Memorial Crowne Plaza Classic at noon Saturday in a battle of top 25 teams.

"We are facing one of the best teams in the country and it is going to be an exciting game, especially being played on New Year's Eve," Shulman said. "Hopefully we can pack Titan Field House for this big-time basketball matchup."

Admission is free to the game.