Titan men's basketball team drops Palm Beach State

The Eastern Florida State College men's basketball team showed why they are the No. 7 team in the NJCAA, getting off to a fast start and defeating Palm Beach State 106-83 Saturday afternoon at Titan Field House on the Melbourne campus.

Austin Awad and Ahmed Ali were both on target early, scoring 19 and 18 points in the first half for the Titans who improved to 16-1 overall and 2-0 in the Southern Conference.

"They came out focused and that is an understatement. They came out with so much energy and laser-sharp focus today that they were not going to be denied," Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman said. "I am proud of them, not just on offense and making shots but defensively, rebounding and knowing our defensive game plan. It was special."

Up 62-30 at the half, sophomores Joan Duran and Kareem Brewton made sure the Panthers would not get back into the game. Brewton finished with a game-high 29 points, 17 coming in the second half and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.

Duran finished with a season-high 21 points, 13 coming in the second half.

"It is effort from the coach, he set us up to have this success. He came to me this past week and said I had a good matchup and needed to play well today," Duran said. "We came out, played hard and physical and are just having fun. When everyone comes out like that we are going to get the W."

The Titans will hit the road for three straight Southern Conference games beginning Tuesday night at Indian River State College. The Titans will be back at Titan Field House Jan. 21 when they host Miami-Dade at 4 p.m.