The PHSC Bobcats are at twelve wins and nine losses as the end of the 2022 season approaches. Even though Florida Gateway College stopped the Bobcat’s five-game winning streak, it’s still a significant improvement from previous years. As we head into February, it’s between Florida Gateway College and Pasco-Hernando State College to battle it out for home-court advantage.
For the 2021/2022 schedule, PHSC meets Florida Gateway College six times. They’ll need to win four games to secure the PHSC west campus to host the Region 8 Men’s Basketball Division II Championship on Saturday, February 26th. “If you can host it, why not give it a shot. That’s the whole point of what we are playing for: Who will host it and who will win it,” said PHSC Basketball Coach Michael Jones.
Currently, PHSC has one win over Florida Gateway College and they will need to secure three more court confrontations. The challenge is there are only three more games left against Florida Gateway College! “The main thing we are going to do is intensify what we are already doing. We saw that we are able to play them better, and if we can increase that for the entire 40 minutes, we can defeat them,” Coach Jones said.
These are fast-paced games and there is no lagging when you are under a 30-second shot clock. Setting up two 20-minute periods on the clock puts the pressure on the athletes. The Bobcats may have to take deeper breaths and focus on bringing that level-headedness upfront when they travel to Lake City on Saturday night, February 5th. Yes, the game that decides whether or not PHSC moves into hosting status or not.
“When you show signs of success, there is no point in changing it, and you have to believe in what you are doing,” Coach Jones said. “There is no x-and-o that is going to make us play better. It’s all heart and desire.”
