ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.- For the second straight season, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers are kings of the Suncoast Conference after defeating St. Petersburg 77-66 Saturday afternoon to claim the outright conference title with their 25th win of the season.
It was anything but easy early on for the #1 ranked Bucs as St. Petersburg slowed things down to a methodical pace, disrupting FSW's offensive flow. The Bucs found themselves down 18-16 midway through the first half before going on a 10-0 run to take the lead and eventually a 37-29 cushion into the break at half.
The momentum didn't carry over into the second half however as the Titans came out the aggressors in the second period, slowly erasing the Bucs lead until they tied the game at 44 with 13:05 to go. FSW looked like they were in trouble as they trailed by four with 8 minutes remaining, but the Bucs returning sophomores didn't want to have to wait to add another banner to the rafters at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Behind DeShawn Thomas on the inside and a slashing Charles Manning Jr., the Bucs evened things up and then went back in front 60-56 in just a two minute span. They continued to add to the lead later on as Jalen Finch scored five straight and then Manning Jr. put in six more of his own to make it a 70-63 game. The Bucs finished strong, holding the Titans to just three points in the final three minutes to salt away the victory and claim their second straight conference title.
The Bucs shot just 41% in the defensive battle, but held St. Pete to just 37% on the afternoon. Manning Jr. led the Bucs with 19 points while Maddox Daniels finished with 14 and Destin Barnes added 12 points and a team high 9 rebounds.
FSW clinches their second straight outright Suncoast Conference Championship with the win, claiming victory for the 14th game in a row to improve to 25-1 overall and 9-0 in league action.
The Bucs have three more regular season contests beginning on Wednesday when they host Hillsborough in a 7:30 PM tip in Suncoast Credit Union Arena. FSW has locked in their place in the FCSAA/Region VIII Tournament where they will take on the #2 seed from the Southern Conference on Thursday, March 7th at 1 PM in Ocala.