FORT MYERS, Fla.- For the second straight game, 40 minutes was not enough to settle things for the #12 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers.  But unlike Wednesday's come from behind overtime victory over Hillsborough, Saturday, they were unable to pull out the win in the extra period as #3 Indian River outlasted the Bucs on their home floor 83-78 to snap a 12 game win streak for FSW.  

 

As expected in a battle between the top two scoring teams in the state of Florida, the pace was at a frenzy early on with the Bucs and Pioneers trading blows to 10-10 four minutes into the action.  A steal and slam from Marcus Niblack moments later gave the Bucs a 17-12 lead, but it was short lived as Indian River responded with a 6-0 run to erase the FSW advantage and take an 18-17 lead of their own with 12:35 to go in the first. The back and forth continued as the Bucs pushed back in front and a three from Kaiyem Cleary made it a six point game at 25-19 midway through the period.  Up 31-24 after a pull up jumper from Jordan Mitchell, the Bucs went ice cold and Indian River took advantage, going on an 11-0 run over the next 4:35 to take a 35-31 lead with under four minutes remaining in the half.  A pair of buckets from FSW in the paint evened the score once again, but Indian River got the final six of the half to take a 41-35 into the locker rooms at the break. 

 

The pace slowed after both teams made adjustments at the half, but FSW wasn't able to cut into the Indian River lead as they remained down by six, 54-48 at the 13:00 mark.  Four straight from the Pioneers gave Indian River their largest lead of the game at 58-48 and they continued to keep the Bucs at arm's length through the under seven media timeout at 61-58. FSW got it back to a two possession game just before the 3:00 mark when Mitchell found Bryant Selebangue for a two handed slam to make it 65-59. As they did Wednesday at Hillsborough, the Bucs slowly grinded back into the game, getting an offensive rebound and put back from Jonathan Dos Anjos and then a tough layup in traffic from Marcus Niblack to make it a two point game at 65-63 with 2:34 to go.  After a pair of free throws from Indian River, a three from Dos Anjos drew FSW to within one with exactly 1:00 left on the clock. The Bucs got a big defensive stop and drew a foul with 13 seconds remaining and headed to the line with a chance to take the lead.  After the first attempt swished through to tie it, the second game up short to keep the game knotted at 69. Indian River raced down the floor and went to the basket in traffic, but was unable to sink the winner and the Bucs cleared the glass and were on the break when the Pioneers were whistled for a foul with 2.3 seconds left on the clock.  For the second time in less than 15 seconds of clock time, the Bucs had a chance to take the lead at the free throw line, but once again, were unable to do so as the front end of the one and one clanged off the backboard.  However, the Bucs were able to secure the offensive rebound for a second chance to win it, but that shot attempt was blocked by the Pioneers to send the game to overtime with the score tied at 69.  

 

Indian River nailed a three on their opening possession of the extra period and never looked back. FSW stayed right with the Pioneers but just weren't able to get the big shot to fall when they needed it and Indian River was able to stretch their lead to six with inside a minute remaining before finishing off an 83-78 victory at the line. 

 

The Bucs fell despite outshooting Indian River 48% to 35% on the afternoon as the Pioneers corralled 22 offensive rebounds to get up nine more shots and 12 more free throws in the contest.  Dos Anjos led the Bucs with 18 points and 4 blocked shots in the loss while Niblack finished with 17.  

 

The loss snaps a 12 game winning streak dating back to Thanksgiving for FSW who falls to 17-3 overall and 4-1 in Southern Conference play with the defeat.  Indian River wins their ninth in a row to improve to 21-2 overall and 6-0 in league play with the victory.  The two teams will meet twice more this season, both coming in a nine day stretch and both in Fort Pierce at the home of Indian River in mid-February. 

 

The Bucs will look to get back on track Wednesday when they travel across Alligator Alley to take on Miami Dade in a 7:30 tip in Miami.