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Indians Lose by 3-Pointer at the Buzzer by Bulldogs

Ronnie Baylark hit a 3-pointer with one second remaining on Friday night to lift Crestview past visiting Choctawhatchee, 62-61 in a pivotal District 2-6A contest. It was just the second district loss of the season for Choctaw (17-7), which was led by Bryan Baker’s 14 points. The Indians complete the regular season on Tuesday night at Tate, with the District Tournament beginning on Tuesday Feb 7 at Fort Walton Beach High School.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 9, Justin Ware 8, Terrance Bryant 9, Mikel Rodgers 9, Jamall Bias 4, Bryan Baker 14, Marque Outlaw 2, Anthony Hawthorne 6.

Choctaw Defeats Gulf Breeze 63-57

The Indians held on to defeat a stubborn Gulf Breeze Dolphin team 63-57 on Senior Night, Jan 26. Jonathan Brassell had 12 points in the victory and Jamal Bias with 2 awesome blocks (link below) on defense. The Tribe travels to Crestview on Friday, Jan. 27 for their final district game. A win over the Bulldogs would guarantee the Indians the #1 seed in the upcoming District Tournament.

Indians top Vikings 72-59 to hold district lead

FORT WALTON BEACH – Friday night’s District 2-6A matchup between bitter cross-town rivals Choctawhatchee and Fort Walton Beach looked the way rivalry games often do. It was fast, physical and competitive. The Choctaw Indians came into the Vikings’ gym tied for first-place in the district, and after defeating the Vikings on their home floor 72-59 they left as such. The physical contest went exactly the way Fort Walton Beach could’ve hoped for three quarters as they stuck to their game plan and tried to slow the breakneck pace the Indians have become known for.Choctaw (16-5, 6-1) led by just six heading into the final quarter, but exploded in the final period, turning the game into the track meet they prefer.

The Indians stretched their lead to as large as 19 in the final quarter with 2:20 to go following a quick 10-1 run. Bryan Baker came alive, scoring 12 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter including knocking down two 3-pointers to help the Indians gain some momentum. Jonathan Brassell added nine points for Choctaw and Anthony Hawthorne played well all night, having no trouble getting to the hoop and being disruptive on the defensive end. He finished with 13 points.

Baker leads Choctaw to easy win vs. Navarre

Bryan Baker led a white-hot Choctawhatchee boys’ basketball team with 17 points and Jonathan Brassell added 15 points as the Indians cruised to a 92-63 win over visiting Navarre Friday night.Choctaw’s 92 points marked a season-high in scoring for the Indians, who subbed in its backups during the fourth quarter. Mikal Rodgers had 11 points for Choctaw (14-5) and Marque Outlaw finished the night with 10 points. Choctaw returns to action on Tuesday when it faces Niceville in a crucial District 2-6A matchup. It was the Eagles that handed the Indians their only district loss earlier this season, taking a 70-57 win over Choctaw in Niceville.

Scoring: Thomas Clay 6, Justin Ware 9, Terrance Bryant 1, Mikal Rodgers 11, Jamal Bias 5, Bryan Baker 17, Marque Outlaw 10, Dylan Williams 5, Trey Cannon 2, Anthony Hawthorne 9, Jonathan Brassell 15, Devin Borders 2.

Indians Win Rematch over Eagles 68-49

FORT WALTON BEACH — The Choctawhatchee boys basketball team started implementing its game plan for Tuesday night’s District 2-6A rematch with Niceville last Wednesday. The message Andy Thigpen had for his team was simple: Stop Kyle Koszuta. The Indians (15-5, 5-1) threw body after body at the talented Niceville point guard and pressed the Eagles hard all night long on their way to a 68-49 win at home. The win evens Choctaw’s record with Niceville (11-7, 4-1) at 1-1 on the year and the two are currently tied atop the district standings. The Choctaw defense forced Niceville into 17 turnovers on the game, while only committing six of its own.

Jonathan Brassell led the way for the Indians offensively. Brassell scored 20 points and showed the range he’s known for early in the contest with a 3-pointer from about 26-feet out in the first quarter. The talented guard then displayed his athleticism on the defensive end with a steal and two handed dunk in the second quarter to extend the Choctaw lead to 27-12 with 6:46 to go in the first half. “When John’s on fire good things happen,” Thigpen said. “As long as he plays in the flow of the game, he has the green light as soon as he crosses half court and he knows what a good shot is and what a bad shot is. He’s a leader that gets us going on the floor and he does everything we ask.” Prior to tipoff, Thigpen asked for his team to deny Koszuta the ball and, when the ball did find its way into his hands, to make life difficult for the Eagles’ point guard.

“The whole team revolves around Koszuta,” Brassell said. “We worked on a game plan since last Wednesday and we had to cut off the source. We cut off the source and what happened?” After torching the Indians for 27 points in their last contest, Koszuta finished with 14 Tuesday night. But the Indians pressure simply disallowed the Eagles to sustain any momentum on the offensive end – with the exception of an early third quarter run that got the Eagles within one-point at 38-37 after a 3-pointer by Shane Horton. Horton led Niceville with 15 points. But that was as close as the Eagles would get as Mikal Rodgers led the second half charge, scoring all 13 of his points in the final two quarters. Bryan Baker finished with 10 points on the night and Justin Ware scored 11.

“I couldn’t wish for a better team,” Brassell said. “We have so much depth, anyone could play at any given time.”

Baker leads Choctaw to easy win vs. Navarre

Choctawhatchee 77- Mosley 68

The Indians (13-5, 4-1 District 1-4A) notched a 77-68 district win over a scrappy Mosley Dolphin team behind another balanced offensive effort. The Indians were led by Jonathan Brassell’s 16 points and Bryan Baker chipped in 12.

Next up: The Indians host district rival Navarre Friday night at the Teepee. JV tips off at 5:30pm, Varsity at 7:00pm.

Scoring: Thomas Clay 7, Justin Ware 3, Mikal Rodgers 9, Jamal Bias 7, Bryan Baker 12, Marque Outlaw 11, Dylan Williams 1, Anthony Hawthorne 9, Jonathan Brassell 16.

Listen to Choctaw vs FWB Game Online

Several of Choctaw's basketball games are now archived online at http://panhandle.ezstream.com/

Listen to the Choctaw vs FWB Game - Click Here

Choctaw jumps past Fort Walton Beach 75-53

Like any coach, Choctawhatchee boys’ basketball coach Andy Thigpen likes to play to his team’s strengths Friday night’s match-up with district foe and arch rival Fort Walton Beach was an exhibition as to what those strengths are, as the host Indians routed the Vikings 75-53 in front of a capacity crowd at the Teepee. The Indians (12-5, 3-1 District 2-6A) wasted no time in jumping out to a quick 11-2 lead in the games opening minutes. Jamal Bias (10 points) and Mikal Rodgers (nine points) helped lead the way for Choctaw early. Rodgers notched four quick points and Bias hit a three that led to a Viking timeout with 4:40 to go in the first quarter. But Fort Walton Beach (6-10, 0-3) slowed the pace and brought the score to 17-11 at the end of the first. The teams battled in the second quarter, going back and forth, but the Indians went to locker room at half with a 33-23 advantage. Just like the start of the first half, the Indians exploded out of the gate in the third quarter.

“A win over Fort Walton is always good,” Thigpen said. “The kids played hard. We had a big third quarter and the kids came out very aggressive, I give all the credit to our players.” Jonathan Brassell came alive in the third quarter, scoring eight of his 14 points and Bryan Baker stepped up defensively for the Indians as well to help them push the lead to 55-33 at the end of the third. “Jonathan is always going to be solid,” Thigpen noted. “He’s a shooter, but he enjoys playing defense and he lives for the big game. He’s one of our leaders and he really got us going.”

The Indians host 2 district games this week, Mosley on Tuesday January 10 for a 5:30pm JV/7:00pm tipoff and host Navarre on Friday January 13.

Indians down Aggies at the Teepee in Thursday Night Action

The Choctawhatchee Indians (11-5) got out to a 50-28 lead at the half and allowed just seven secondhalf points to get a decisive win over Tate. Even with a running clock the entire second half, every player scored for Choctaw. Jonathan Brassell led the way with 20 points on the night and Brandon Mosley added 13. Choctaw hosts Fort Walton Beach tonight.

Scoring: Thomas Clay 2, Terrance Bryant 4, Michael Rodgers 6, Jamal Bias 2, Brandon Mosley 13, Bryan Baker 7, Marque Outlaw 10, Dylan Williams 3, Trey Cannon 4, Anthony Hawthorne 1, Jonathan Brassell 20, Devin Borders 5.

Choctaw roars back to beat Crestview 70-62

FORT WALTON BEACH – Choctawhatchee spotted Crestview 14 points before roaring back behind the play of Mikal Rodgers to beat the Bulldogs 70-62 in District 2-6A boys basketball play on Tuesday.  Indians coach Andy Thigpen wasn’t surprised by the way his team battled back.   “I have good guys,” he said. “They just had to settle down and play their game. I knew patience and attention would get us back in the game. But you can never count Crestview out because coach (Keith) White is a great coach and his players are very athletic. It’s not over until the end of the ball game.”
The Indians finally got on the scoreboard with 2:09 left in the period when Jonathan Brassell broke the drought with a mid-range jumper.   Another Brassell basket pulled the Indians (10-5, 2-1) within 10 points, but things still looked bleak for the home team at the end of the first quarter with Crestview up 19-6.  A Crestview basket by Antryum Coleman with 4:12 left in the first half gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night at 26-11.   Rodgers then proceeded to take over the game scoring 11 of his team-high 23 points in the final four minutes of the half. A Rodgers’ basket with 1:14 left in the second quarter pulled the Indians to within two points of Crestview at 30-28. But Jonathan Buckelew hit three free throws and Denzel Ware added another to stretch the Crestview lead to 34-28 at the break. Choctaw got scores from Jamel Bias, Rodgers and Brassell to open the third quarter and take the lead at 35-34.    Bias joined Rodgers in double figures for the Indians with 10 points. Brassell added nine points and Terrance Bryant kicked in eight points.
The Indians host Tate on Thursday night and Fort Walton Beach on Friday night.

Choctawhatchee 66 - Graves County (Ky.) 59

Choctaw moved to 9-5 on the year and got their first win of the tournament. Bryan Baker led the way for the second consecutive night, finishing with 15 points. Terrance Bryant and Jonathan Brassell each scored 11 for the Indians as well. Baker was named to the All Tournament Team.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 11, Thomas Clay 2, Justin Ware 4, Terrance Bryant 11, Mikal Rodgers 7, Jamal Bias 4, Brandon Moseley 8, Bryan Baker 15, Anthony Hawthorne 4.

Choctaw falls to highly ranked Dyer County (Ky.) 98 - 80

The Choctawhatchee boys’ basketball team dropped its third game in as many days on Thursday night, falling to Dyer County (Tenn.) 98-80 at the GoSouthern.com Classic at Fort Walton Beach. Dyer County — coincidentally named the Choctaws — was led by highly-touted guard, Robert Hubbs. Hubbs poured in 42 points on the night to lead his team offensively and provided some highlight reel dunks for the crowd as well.
“The second quarter was the big difference,” Indians coach Andy Thigpen said. “They won 30-7, and like I always say, ‘We play for four quarters, most of the time we’re OK.’ (Hubbs) is a beast and he kind of took over in the second quarter, then we made some adjustments and kind of settled down a little bit.”

The Indians (8-5) jumped out to a 28-19 first quarter lead behind a hot-handed Bryan Baker, who started the game 3-for-3 with two 3-pointers. Baker finished with 24 points on the night. “I’ve been in a slump lately,” Baker said, “but I just came out and took my shots, squared-up and tried to stay focused. It felt really good.” Mikal Rodgers added nine first-quarter points to help Choctaw jump out to the early lead. He finished with 12 on the night, while Anthony Hawthorne was consistent all night, finishing with 21 for the Indians.

Evangelical Christian (Tenn.) 62 - Choctaw 57

Choctaw fell to Evangelical Christian in the first round of play at Fort Walton Beach. Despite trailing by just two at the half, the Indians (9-3) were outscored17-5inthethirdquarter and couldn’t battle back in the final eight minutes. Thomas Clay led the way for Choctaw with nine points.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 6, Thomas Clay 9, Justin Ware 6, Michael Rodgers 8, Jamal Bias 4, K.J. Brundage 4, Brian Baker 2, Marque Outlaw 7, Anthony Hawthorne 2, Devin Borders 4.

Choctaw holds on to defeat Dolphins

The Indians held off a scrappy Gulf Breeze Dolphin team 59-51 Thursday night. Jonathan Brassell had 15 points, Anthony Hawthorne had 13 points and Mikal Rodgers finished with 11 as the Indians improved to 5-1. Choctaw travels to Niceville tonight for a 7:30 tip.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 15, Thomas Clay 3, Justin Ware 5, Mikel Rodgers 11, Bryan Baker 9, Anthony Hawthorne 13, Devin Borders 2.

Second Half Surge Lifts Choctaw over FWB in 2nd Game in Shootout

FORT WALTON BEACH – There is nothing anybody wearing the green of Choctawhatchee enjoys more than a victory over the Fort Walton Beach Vikings. Tuesday night was no exception as the host Indians exploded in the second half to earn a 71-46 win over the arch-rival Vikings to move to 2-0 in the Indian Shootout at Choctawhatchee. The Indians (7-2) had 11 of their 15 players score, but Thomas Clay led the way with 11 points – all of which came in the first three quarters. After building a 30-20 lead at the half, the Indians took over in the second half, as the Indians came out and took it to their cross-town rivals, outscoring the Vikings (4-5) 41-26 in the second half to seal the win.

When asked what changed at the half, Choctaw coach Andy Thigpen’s answer was simple: “Intensity level.” “The guys decided they wanted to play and when they want to play, they’re a very good ball team,” Thigpen said. “We just need to bring that intensity level for four quarters. We show spurts of it, but we need to get there. Our goal is to play four quarters,” he said. “If we can play four quarters of basketball we can wear teams down.”

Jonathan Brassell scored nine points for Choctaw on three 3-pointers and Mikal Rodgers and Justin Ware each scored nine as well. But the Indians saved their best for last, outscoring the Vikings 28-18 in the final quarter. “It feels awesome because it’s a rivalry game and we beat them by a lot,” Clay said. “We just turned it up, built the intensity up, and got in their head.”

Fort Walton Beach was led by Allen Wallace who finished with 15 points on the night, most of which came on seven fourth-quarter free throws. Rece Drake finished with 11 points for the Vikings. “You got to give all the credit to them,” Fort Walton Beach coach John Lavin said. “They’re very athletic, a lot more athletic than we are. We got to realize our limitations and even still, we think we have a chance to compete with anybody, but we’re going to need to own the fundamentals a little bit. We’ll find out a lot about (our team)," Lavin said. "We're playing an early game (Wednesdsay) at five o’clock, so we better learn how to deal with pressure in about 20 hours.”

Choctaw will host Navarre at Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Choctawhatchee cruises past P.K. Younge in Shootout Opener

Jamal Bias led the Indians (6-2) with 18 points and Jonathan Brassell added 12 as Choctaw won on the opening night of the Indian Shootout 85-45. Choctaw outscored P.K. Yonge 29-3 in the third quarter. The Indians host rival Fort Walton Beach Tuesday nigh at 8 p.m.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 12, Thomas Clay 9, Justin Wear 6, Terrance Bryant 6, Mikal Rodgers 2, Jamal Bias 18, Brandon Mosley 8, Angel Acosta 5, K.J. Brundridge 2, Bryan Baker 7, Trey Cannon 4, Anthony Hawthorne 2, Devin Borders 4.

Indians Down Raiders in Road Win78-64

Jonathan Brassell led the Indians with 13 points, Jamal Bias finished with 12 and Bryan Baker added 11 as the Choctawhatchee boys’ basketball team won at Navarre, 78-56, to improve to 3-1 on the season. Anthony Hawthorne just missed on giving the Indians a fourth player in double-figures scoring, finishing the night with nine points.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 13, Thomas Clay 3, Justin Ware 4, Terrance Bryant 2, Mikal Rodgers 2, Jamal Bias 12, K.J. Brundidge 6, Bryan Baker 11, Marque Outlaw 5, Anthony Hawthorne 9, Devin Borders 2.

Indians top Eagles 61-58

Jonathan Brassell led the Indians with 13 points and Thomas Clay added 11 as Choctaw improved to 2-1 with a win over Pine Forest. Bryan Baker added eight for Choctaw, which used a 13-9 third-quarter run to help notch the win. Choctaw travels to Navarre on Thursday.

Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 13, Thomas Clay 11, Michael Rogers 5, Jamal Bias 5, Angel Acosta 3, Bryan Baker 8, Marque Outlaw 1, Dylan Williams 3, Anthony Hawthorne 8, Devin Borders 4. Totals: 14 6 14-19 61

Home Season Ticket Passes & T-Shirts Now for Sale

Home Season Ticket Passes and Official 2011-12 Choctaw Basketball T-Shirts are now for sale! Season Ticket passes (does not include Christmas Shootout Tournament games) are on sale for sale for $25.00 and a limited number of t-shirts remain for sale for $10.00. See Coach Thigpen, Coach White or Coach Scaife to purchase.

The Indians host Pine Forest on November 29, then travel to Navarre (December 1), Mosley (December 9) and Gulf Breeze (December 15) before the Christmas Break. The break is anything but that for the Indians as they host a pre-Christmas tourney December 19-21, then will participate in the Southern Resorts Shootout at FWB December 27-30.

Pensacola Catholic 47, Choctawhatchee 44

Bryan Baker led Choctaw (1-1) with 13 points but Catholic’s Michael Burkhartt had a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds to help the Crusaders (1-1) pick up the win to even their record on the final day of the Emerald Coast McDonald’s Basketball Tournament at Fort Walton Beach.
Choctaw Scoring: Jonathan Brassell 8, Justin Ware 7, Mikel Rodgers 2, Jamal Bias 4, Brandon Mosley 2, Bryan Baker 13, Anthony Hawthorne 8. Totals: 13 6 0-3 44.

Choctawhatchee 64, Chipley 58

Choctawhatchee and Chipley matched up in what looked to be a track meet in the late game of the Emerald Coast McDonald’s Basketball Tournament. The Indians started out cold, but eventually heated and up and took their first lead of the game late in the second quarter, and never gave it up to get their first win of the Andy Thigpen era at Choctaw. Thigpen made it clear in the preseason that his team would be very up-tempo. They were, and then some.
Choctaw (1-0) opened the second half with a 12-4 run to take a 45-32 lead with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter. The Indians’ pressure defense overwhelmed the Tigers for much of the third quarter and forced turnovers which led to easy Choctaw breakaways. Anthony Hawthorne paced the Indians with 16 points that seemed to come exactly when Choctaw appeared in danger of letting its momentum slip away. Hawthorne threw down a thunderous one-handed breakaway dunk in the first half to give the Choctaw offense the momentum it needed to take the lead and the eventual win. Jonathan Brassell and Bryan Baker each finished with 13 points for Indians.

Choctaw Defeats FWB

Choctaw went on the road to FWB High School for an early preseaon contest. The Indians came away with a 67 to 63 win Thursday. The first regular season game will have the Indains traveling to Chipley on Monday.

Indians Top Marlins In Tip-Off Classic Opener

The Coach Andy Thigpen era began on a winning note as the Indians downed the Arnold Marlins 69-36 at Fort Walton Beach High School. Jonathan Brassell led the way for the Tribe with 15 points. The Indians will face cross-town rivals Fort Walton Beach in part 2 of the classic on Thursday November 17 at FWB. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00pm.