MIAMI, Fla.- After playing two straight overtime games last week, the #16 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers needed a breather, and that is what they got Wednesday on the road at Miami Dade as they jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, downing the Sharks 70-54 to improve to 18-3 on the year. 

 

The Bucs came out with some fire, especially on the defensive end, holding the Sharks without a field goal for nearly seven minutes to begin the game to build an 8-0 and 11-3 lead before Miami Dade finally got one through the hoop with 13:00 to go in the half. A steal by Jonathan Dos Anjos and a finish on the other end from the Brazilian stretched it to a 10 point lead for the Bucs and they kept the Sharks at arm's length the rest of the half before taking a 30-19 lead into the break.  

 

As he has been accustomed to lately, Marcus Niblack took things over for the Bucs in the second half, at one point scoring seven straight for FSW to push their lead to 40-24 with under 16:00 remaining. The Bucs did hit a cold spell and Miami Dade took advantage, cutting the FSW lead in half to eight at the midway point of the second. It stayed an eight point game with 7:00 to go when the Bucs stepped on the gas one last time and put the game away. FSW went on a 16-4 run, capped by a three in transition from Klein Alexandre to put the nail in the Sharks coffin before going on to win 70-54 at the final horn.  

 

The Bucs took advantage of a contest that featured 44 total fouls, going 28-38 at the free throw line where they outscored Miami Dade by 18.  Niblack led the way with 19 points, 15 coming in the second half, while Bryant Selebangue led the Bucs with 9 rebounds and also chipped in 11 points on a perfect 4-4 from the floor. 

 

FSW improves to 18-3 on the year with the win and goes to 5-1 in Southern Conference play while Miami Dade drops to 10-12 overall and 2-5 in league action.  

 

The Bucs will return home on Saturday when they battle State College of Florida in a 4 PM matinee tip from Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.