Allen Udemadu (Photo by Linwood Ferguson/CaptivePhotons.com)
Posted: Jan 14, 2023
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #22 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers hit a three on their first possession to take an early lead and never looked back Saturday afternoon in Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, hammering the visiting State College of Florida Manatees 107-80 for their 20th consecutive victory over their rivals from Bradenton.
After being stymied offensively Wednesday on the road at Miami Dade, it was a much different story on Saturday as the Bucs jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead just 4:00 in and extended that lead to 20-8 moments later when Allen Udemadu finished on a dish from Bradley Douglas in the lane. SCF cut it to a six point game at 25-19 with 8:44 remaining in the half, but the Bucs scored 17 of the next 19 points in the contest to open up their largest lead of the first half at 42-21 with 4:47 to go. Again the Manatees showed some resistance, getting it back to an eight point game with just over a minute to go in the half, but the Bucs got the last six including a steal and slam from Jordan Mitchell in the closing moments to put the Purple and Aqua up 14 at the break, 54-40.
The Bucs carried their momentum from the first half right over into the second as they got the first seven points of the second period, capped by a thunderous alley oop slam from Jadrian Tracey to stretch their lead back to 21 at 61-40 with 18:51 to go. This time the Manatees didn't push back as a three from Jaehshon Thomas made it 70-45 and another dunk from Mitchell gave FSW their first 30 point lead of the game at 80-49 with 10:32 to go. With the only thing left to decide being the final score, Omar Rowe came in off the FSW bench and delivered a highlight reel dunk in traffic to eclipse the century mark and the Bucs went on to win it 107-80 for their 20th straight win over SCF.
FSW never dipped below 50% shooting on the day, finishing the afternoon at 52% from the field while holding the Manatees to under 40% overall. Brown led the Bucs with 20 points on 9-11 shooting while Mitchell scored a career high 17 and Thomas notched his career best with 13.
The Bucs improve to 14-4 overall on the year and 2-1 in Southern Conference action while SCF falls to 11-7 overall and 1-1 in league play.
FSW will enjoy a bit of an extended break, not taking the floor again until next Saturday on the road in Tampa when they take on Hillsborough in a 4 PM tip from the Hawks' Dale Mabry Campus.