February 20, 2021
Bucs Top Century Mark in Win Over Manatees
The #13 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers scorched the nets for 59 second half points, shooting 61% from the field and hitting 10 three pointers Saturday afternoon as they ran past the State College of Florida Manatees 102-71 in Southern Conference action.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #13 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers scorched the nets for 59 second half points, shooting 61% from the field and hitting 10 three pointers Saturday afternoon as they ran past the State College of Florida Manatees 102-71 in Southern Conference action.
It was an up and down affair early on between the Bucs and the Manatees with State College of Florida jumping out to an early seven point lead before FSW fought back to tie the score at 23 and then take a two point lead of their own on a drive and score from Jaden Campbell midway through the first. The teams continued to trade buckets in an entertaining half and they were tied once again with 4:30 to go at 32 a side. The Bucs retook the lead with under 3:00 to go on a floater from Jaden Campbell before a pair of buckets from Terry Roberts to close the half gave the Bucs a 43-38 lead into the break at half.
The second half was not nearly as competitive. After a pair of early threes from Kario Oquendo and Jonthan Dos Anjos, the Bucs took their first double digit lead of the game at 55-43. Rhyjohn Blackwell came off the bench to connect on a pair of triples of his own to push the lead to 17 and a huge steal and slam from Kaiyem Cleary made it 73-53 FSW with 8:48 to go. Two more threes for the Bucs from Cleary and Campbell closed a 17-0 run from the Bucs, blowing the game open to a 83-53 FSW advantage. The Bucs continued to light up the scoreboard with ease for the final six minutes as they emptied out their bench. Kahari Rogers cashed three three pointers in just four minutes while Oquendo thundered home a dunk overtop of a Manatee defender in route to breaking the century mark and finishing off a 102-71 victory.
The Bucs shot 61% in the second half and 67% from the three point line in the final 20 minutes to finish the game at 49% from the field and 47% from deep. Three different players had career highs for FSW including Roberts who went off for 25 points and seven assists, Dos Anjos who had 16 and nine boards, and Blackwell who scored 13 and posted a +15 on the afternoon. Campbell continued his hot streak with a 16 point effort.
FSW wins their fifth straight to improve to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference action while State College of Florida falls to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in league play with the defeat. It is the 13th straight win for FSW over SCF in the series.
The Bucs are back in action on Monday when they host Victory Rock Prep in a 7 PM tip from Suncoast Credit Union Arena.