Men's Basketball Season in Review

Lake Worth, FL -- The 2018-2019 Palm Beach Men's Basketball team saw their season come to a close in the opening round of the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 tournament in Ocala, FL, as they fell to Chipola College 72-75.

Yet, the team has much to be proud of. The Panthers finished with a record of 21-9 and clinched their first Southern Conference title since 2012, the first under the guidance of Head Coach Martin McCann. For his efforts, McCann received Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Sophomore Guard Malik Curry led the team in scoring, finished 2nd in the region, and ranked 13th nationally in points-per-game. Additionally, Curry led the team in Assists, finished 2nd in the region, and ranked 16th in the nation. Recognition was widespread for Curry, as he amassed many honors. He was twice named FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Player of the Week for Men's Basketball. He also received Conference Player of the Year for the Southern Conference, 1st Team All-Conference, and was recently named to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 All-Tournament Team.

Darrick Boyd, Miles James, & Alex Kotov were named 1st Team All-Conference along with Curry. Adong Makoui, Sam'i Roe, and Marcus Hopkins were named to the 2nd Team.

There were many signature moments along the way. Coach Martin McCann won his 100th game at the school, a 90-68 victory over Florida State College at Jacksonville. At just 29 years of age, Coach McCann has been quoted by his peers as "a rising star in the profession". An 88-83 victory over Chipola College, ranked #3 in the state, stands out as one of the best victories of the year. The team opened Southern Conference play with a statement win over Miami Dade, 105-73. They proceeded to win 5 out of their next 6, including an 85-82 win over last year's conference champion Indian River, en route to a 9-3 conference record. The eventual conference-clinching game was a thrilling 86-78 victory in overtime, again versus Indian River. Nets were cut, pictures were taken, and our coach was given the ceremonial Gatorade bath. Malik Curry scored a team-high 41 points in a loss versus Broward, the last game of the regular season.

Unfortunately, the season came down to one game -- a playoff game. The Panthers trailed by 3 going into halftime in a highly contested matchup. Points were traded back and forth. They would fall by just 3 points.

Perhaps the best news is that the team returns much of its Conference Championship roster for 2019-2020. Only 3 sophomores will depart. Two first team All-Conference players will return as will all 2nd team All-Conference players.

One thing is for certain -- the future for Palm Beach State College Men's Basketball is very bright.