TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 9, 2010) - The third and final round of the 2010 Panhandle Conference basketball season commences on Wednesday evening. For Tallahassee Community College, a trip to Panama City, Fla., where it will play a doubleheader against Gulf Coast Community College, provides an opportunity for both the Lady Eagles and Eagle men to move one step closer towards a berth in next month's FCCAA Tournament.

In the 6:30 p.m. opener, FCCAA No. 4/NJCAA No. 11 TCC (16-6, 4-4 PC) will attempt to knock off the PC-leading Lady Commodores (21-1, 7-1), who are ranked first in both the FCCAA and NJCAA polls.

TCC picked up a huge win on Saturday when it defeated Chipola College. That, along with Gulf Coast's win over Northwest Florida State College, left the Lady Eagles with a two-game lead over Northwest Florida State (2-6) for the PC's third and final postseason berth. But TCC is a combined 0-4 against Gulf Coast and Saturday's opponent, Pensacola Junior College, which means the Lady Eagles still have plenty of work to do.

Entering play on Wednesday, TCC's magic number to clinch a postseason berth is three - meaning the Lady Eagles need any combination of victories plus losses by Northwest Florida State equaling three.

Wednesday's 8:30 p.m. game offers the Eagle men (20-4, 6-2) a chance to rebound from Saturday's disappointing loss at Chipola.

No. 12/No. 2 TCC missed a chance to wrap up a postseason berth on Saturday, as Chipola successfully staved off elimination and pulled within three games of the Eagles. Now, TCC faces a Gulf Coast squad who will try to do the same.

The Commodores (15-10, 2-6) trail the Eagles by four games with four left to play, which means a TCC win would eliminate Gulf Coast from postseason contention. It would also guarantee the Eagles of no worse than a tie for second-place in the PC.

With Chipola idle on Wednesday, TCC -- whose magic number is two -- can't assure itself of a postseason berth until Saturday, at the earliest, when it hosts Pensacola.

The Gulf Coast Sports Network will carry Wednesday's games online at www.gcathletics.com.

TCC Baseball, Softball climb in FCCAA polls

Tallahassee Community College's baseball and softball teams earned No. 5 rankings in the latest FCCAA Coaches' Polls, released on Tuesday.

The TCC baseball team, off to a 4-1 start, climbed two spots to No. 5. The State College of Florida leads the poll at No. 1.

All five Panhandle Conference schools are in the top ten, led by No. 3 Gulf Coast Community College. Chipola College, the preseason No. 1, dropped to No. 6, followed by No. 8 Pensacola Junior College and No. 10 Northwest Florida State College.

A 6-2 start, including wins over top-ranked Florida State College at Jacksonville and then-No. 2 Santa Fe College, helped the TCC softball team jump three spots to No. 5. The Eagles received 123 points in the voting, just two points behind Santa Fe and Indian River State College, who are tied at No. 3.

Led by TCC, PC schools are ranked five through eight -- with Chipola, Gulf Coast and Northwest Florida State trailing the Eagles, respectively.

In the FCCAA Basketball Coaches' Polls, the Eagle men slipped to No. 2 after sharing the top spot with Northwest Florida State a week ago. The Lady Eagles stayed put at No. 4.

TCC also slipped one spot to No. 12 in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Poll. The women's poll will be released on Wednesday.