HUTCHINSON, KAN.- Playing for the first time in 12 days, the #5 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers showed a little bit of rust Wednesday in their second round matchup at the NJCAA National Tournament against #12 Indian Hills, but the Bucs stepped on the gas for a 49 point second half, building a lead of as many as 20 before hanging on late to win 77-71 to advance to the round of eight on Thursday.
Destin Barnes scored on the Bucs first possession of the game, looking like he was going to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon for FSW. But the Bucs had trouble getting going after that, falling behind 16-9 at the 13 minute mark of the first half after managing just a single basket in a stretch of 3:15. Charles Manning Jr. got the Bucs back on track with a runner and back to back threes from Maddox Daniels and Manning Jr. moments later knotted the game up at 19. A steal and score by Manning Jr. gave the Bucs the lead back and they pushed the lead to four at 25-21 with 5:47 to go in the half as Keon Ellis connected on an eight footer. Indian Hills scored the next four to tie the score back up at 25, but the Bucs took a one point, 28-27 advantage into the locker room at half.
It was a struggle for both sides in the first 20 minutes as FSW shot 36% and held Indian Hills to just 29% from the floor. The Bucs turned the ball over just one less time, 10, than total field goals made, 11, in the half. Manning Jr. led FSW with 10 first half points, while Maddox Daniels had seven to go along with six rebounds.
The Bucs again scored on their first possession of the half in the second as Manning Jr. knocked down a jumper to give them a three point lead. Moments later DeShawn Thomas threw down a thunderous two handed slam on an alley oop from Jalen Finch to give the Bucs a 37-31 lead and the momentum as the second half got rolling. The Bucs continued to cushion their lead, taking a double digit advantage with 11:45 to go when Keon Ellis slammed home an offensive rebound to make it 45-34. Then it was Finch's time to shine. The Bucs point guard torched Indian Hills for going under ball screens on him, scoring the next seven for FSW to give them their largest lead to that point in the game at 52-37. Another tip in dunk from Ellis padded the Bucs lead and they went up by as many as 20 with 5:22 left as Maddox Daniels completed an old fashioned three point play. But just when it looked like it was in the bag for the Purple and Aqua, here came the Warriors. Indian Hills outscored FSW 12-2 over the next three minutes, cutting the lead in half from 20 to 10. They continued their run, getting all the way to within four with 37 seconds remaining on a drive and score in the lane. On the ensuing inbounds, the Bucs broke the press and Manning Jr. wasn't taking any chances as the sophomore threw down an emphatic one handed slam to give the Bucs a 74-68 lead and all but extinguish any chances of a Warrior comeback in this one. Maddox Daniels hit three of four from the free throw line down the stretch and the Bucs held on to win 77-71 to advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday.
FSW shot 52% in the second half to finish the game at 44% overall while holding Indian Hills to just 31% in the contest. Manning Jr. led the Bucs with 22 points to become just the second FSW men's player in history with 900 career points. Maddox Daniels finished off a 16 points, 10 rebound double-double for FSW in the win and Finch scored a career high 15 for the Bucs on the afternoon.
The Bucs improve to 30-2 on the year with the win to match the most wins in a season in program history, while Indian Hills sees their season come to an end at 27-7.
FSW advances to the Elite Eight, quarterfinal round where they will take on #4 Coffeyville Thursday night at 7 PM EDT with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
