MIAMI, Fla.- If a shark is flipped on its back, it goes into a state called tonic immobility, a trance like state in which the animal is nearly non-reactive to things around it.  Saturday afternoon in Miami, the normally frenetic paced Miami Dade Sharks pulled a tonic immobility trick of their own on the #15 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, slowing the pace of the game down considerably to stay with the high powered Bucs before stunning FSW in the final minutes 71-70 for their first ever win over the Bucs.  

 

The opening minutes of the game were a sign of things to come for the Bucs in the first 30 minutes of the contest as Miami Dade jumped out to a 6-2 early lead and it was nearly five minutes in before FSW made their third field goal of the game.  A three minute stretch without a basket for the Bucs allowed Miami Dade to extend their lead to 16-9 and FSW remained down by seven at the midway point of the half at 21-14.  A three from Terry Roberts drew the Bucs back to within four , but a 13-5 run for the Sharks gave them their largest lead of the game at 34-22 with 4:33 to go in the half.  A three point play from Kario Oquendo and a late bucket from Roberts cut the Miami Dade lead to 34-32 and gave FSW all the momentum into the break.  

 

The Sharks kept the Bucs at arm's reach for the first six minutes of the half until two quick baskets including a slam from Jonathan Dos Anjos gave FSW their first lead since the opening minutes of the game at 44-43. The Bucs looked like they had turned the corner as they padded their lead to seven and later led 64-58 with 5:17 to go.  But the Sharks weren't ready to go away yet, holding the Bucs without a point for the next 2:05 to erase the FSW lead and take a two point lead of their own at 66-64.  The teams went back and forth for the final three minutes of regulation and the Bucs had a shot to win it at the buzzer, but the ball crawled off the rim and Miami Dade cleared the rebound to stun the Bucs 71-70. 

 

To show the difference in the pace of Saturday's game compared to FSW's last game with the Sharks, there were 49 less field goal attempts by the two teams and 67 less points scored.  Roberts led the Bucs with 20 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds while also picking off 3 steals to break the FSW all-time record with 117.  Dos Anjos notched his second straight double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. 

 

The loss is a shocking one for FSW as they fall to 16-4 overall and 8-3 in Southern Conference play, officially ending their chances for a conference title, while Miami Dade picks up just their third win of the season to improve to 3-13 overall and 2-9 in league play. 

 

The Bucs will wrap up the regular season on Monday at home in Suncoast Credit Union Arena when they host State College of Florida on Sophomore Night with tip off scheduled for 7 PM.