Bradenton, Fla - At 9-6, the Manatees Basketball team is off to our strongest start since the 2012-2013 campaign.  Andre Jackson has lead the way with 20.1 points per game.  He is the NJCAA Region leader in this category and ranked 33rd in the nation.  Fellow sophomore, Amaru Bryant, has chipped in 15.7 points per game.  Freshman point guard, Edwin Louis, has accounted for 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 2.6 steals per game.  Louis edged out Jackson for the lead in assists per game, 4.5 and 4.1 resepctively.

The addition of an inside presence by Miles Wilson, Joel Coffey, and Youssouf Traore has made a signigicant impact on the Manatees success in the first half of the season.  Wilson has posted three double-doubles and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. Traore is second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.  Joel Coffey, a 7 ft. center from New Zealand, has made an impact with his 1.5 blocks per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, and 4.7 points per game.

The Manatees open the Suncoast Conference season on Saturday January 6th at St. Petersburg College.  Tip off is 4:00 pm.