NICEVILLE, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers were stunned in the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA Region VIII Tournament on Wednesday, scoring a season low 68 points and shooting under 40% from the field for just the second time all season in a 75-68 defeat at the hands of Gulf Coast State.  FSW's fate will now be in the hands of the NJCAA's at-large committee which will be announced Monday at 1 PM.  

 

The start of the game was a sign of things to come for the Bucs offense as it took them 3:34 before they scored their first points of the night.  A putback dunk from Berrick JeanLouis gave FSW a 6-3 lead moments later, but it would be nearly four minutes before they scored again as Gulf Coast pushed in front 9-6.  The Bucs struggles continued as the Commodores stretched their lead to eight at the midway point of the first half with a 7-0 run.  A three from Keon Ellis tied the score at 16 at the nine minute mark but Gulf Coast scored six of the next eight to retake a 22-18 lead.  FSW scored six straight, capped off by a Jalen Finch to Ellis slam to give the Bucs a two point lead with 3:04 to go in the half and they added one to that lead before the break to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room at half.  

 

The Bucs led at the half despite shooting just 32% from the field and going 1-7 from the three point line.  One positive for the Bucs was their defense who held the Commodores to just 32% shooting and forced six Gulf Coast turnovers which they turned into 12 first half points.  

 

Gulf Coast quickly came out and hit a three on their first possession of the second half and that too, was a sign to come for the Commodores in the final 20 minutes of action.  After Gulf Coast tied the game at 29, FSW scored seven straight to take a 36-29 lead, but two more quick threes from the Commodores made it a one point game with 17 minutes to go.  Another push by the Bucs gave them their largest lead of the game at 42-34 with 15:18 remaining.  The roller coaster second half continued as three minutes later the Commodores were back to within a pair at 46-44.  Back to back buckets from Simeon Kirkland on the inside sandwiched around a Gulf Coast duece to push the Bucs lead to four.  The Bucs went scoreless over the next 2:30 as their lead was erased and turned into a four point advantage for the Commodores at 54-50 with 8:50 to go.  FSW looked like they were in trouble as their deficit grew to double digits for the first time in the game at 66-54 with 6:33 remaining.  The Bucs started to climb back into the game as Ellis began to warm up.  The sophomore scored eight straight for FSW to make it a four point game with 5:11 left, but couldn't score for the next two minutes as it remained a 68-64 game with 3:00 remaining.  A drive and score from Finch cut the Gulf Coast lead to two which is where it was as the game entered the final minute of action.  The Bucs got a stop and got the ball back with a chance to tie with a two or take the lead with a three, but an off balanced shot in traffic didn't fall and they didn't get another chance to tie it again. Gulf Coast finished the Bucs off at the free throw line and put an exclamation point on the upset win with a breakaway dunk in the final seconds to close out a 75-68 win to put a quick end to FSW's tournament run.  

 

The Bucs' 68 points and 13% mark from the three point line were season lows while their 39% shooting on the night was their second worst mark of the season.  Ellis finished with team highs in points with 23 and rebounds with 8 while Finch and JeanLouis both reached double figures in scoring with 14 and 12 respectively. 

 

FSW drops their first regulation game of the year and sees a 22 game winning streak come to an end to fall to 29-2 on the year while Gulf Coast advances to the semifinal round of the tournament to take on Central Florida at 22-7 on the year.  

 

The Bucs' fate now rests in the hands of the NJCAA at-large committee which will almost assuredly give FSW one of the eight at-large bids to the NJCAA National Tournament later this month in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Fans can find out alongside the Bucs if their season is going to continue on Monday in Suncoast Credit Union Arena when FSW will host a watch party for the National Tournament Selection Show at 1 PM.