DUSTIN KENT
Floridan Sports Editor
Published: February 19, 2008

With a state tournament berth wrapped up and a firm grip on first place in the Panhandle Conference race, the Chipola Indians’ next target is the state tournament.

The No. 3 Indians (27-1), who can clinch their fifth straight league title with a win tonight over Pensacola or with an Okaloosa-Walton loss to TCC, have two more regular season games before the March 5 tournament at the Milton H. Johnson Health Center.

With wins over PJC in Pensacola and Gulf Coast Saturday at Homecoming, Chipola can set a school record for most regular season wins with 29.

Another state championship would give the Indians a remarkable four in five years.

Chipola coach Greg Heiar said that he expected that the fourth title since he arrived at Chipola could end up being the toughest.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for us this year because the state is probably the best it has ever been in terms of the depth and talent of the teams,” the coach said. “You may have the two best teams in the nation (Chipola and OW) playing in the same conference and both teams could get knocked off in the tournament.

“That’s how competitive the state is this year. Anybody can beat anybody at this time of the year.”

Heiar has led Chipola to two of the last three state titles, while he served as an assistant under Chris Jans during the Indians’ 2004 title run.

The 2007-08 version of the Indians might be the strongest group of any during that run.

Chipola has spent most of the season atop the national rankings, with its only loss coming on the road to No. 6 OW, where the Raiders haven’t lost all season.

A 90-81 victory Saturday night over OW in Marianna broke a first-place tie between the clubs, giving the Indians essentially a two-game advantage, one in the standings and another with the tiebreaker.

“I like how our team is playing right now,” said Heiar, who also said he was encouraged by his team’s effort against OW. “I thought we played a lot smarter Saturday night and played as a fist, instead of as five fingers.”

A fourth matchup of Chipola and OW might seem inevitable, though Heiar isn’t ready to see that far into the future.

“I don’t want to look past anyone,” the coach said, “but OW is really, really good. They’re an outstanding team.”

--

The men’s tournament begins March 5, while the women’s tourney tips March 6.

The championship games will take place Saturday night, March 8, with the men’s game coming at 5 p.m. and the women at 7:30 p.m.

For ticket information, call 718-2220 or visit the official tourney Web site at http://www.chipola.edu.