Posted: Nov 17, 2023
FORT MYERS, Fla.- You can't win them all pretty and Thursday certainly proved that for the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers as FSW shook off a rare inefficient night on the offensive side of the floor for a 66-57 win over the visiting Central Georgia Tech Titans in Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
The Bucs got out to a quick start against the Titans, scoring the first six points of the contest to take an early 6-0 lead. A three from AJ Hopkins made it 12-3 FSW at the first media timeout and a steal and score from Hopkins two minutes later had the Bucs on top 16-5 with 12:13 to go in the half. The Bucs went cold from there though, managing just two points over the next 5:00 as turnovers hampered their operations allowing the Titans to crawl back to within just three at 18-15 with 7:15 left in the first. Central Georgia Tech eventually tied the core up at 21 before a three from Hopkins put FSW back in front but at the half things were all back to square one with the Bucs and Titans heading to the locker rooms deadlocked at 28.
The two teams managed just two points a side through the first four minutes of the second half when the Bucs put together their best stretch of the night. With the score tied at 30, the Bucs went on an 18-0 run, highlighted by a pair of dunks from Yvens Paul to give FSW their largest lead of the night at 48-30 midway through the second. Just when it looked like the Bucs were going to run away with it, the Titans came storming back, going on an 11-1 run of their own, holding FSW without a field goal for nearly four minutes as they got back to within single digits at 49-41 with 6:03 remaining. A three from Dezdrick Lindsay got the Bucs back on track and they were never threatened again as they pushed their lead back to 16 before the Titans scored the final seven to make things look respectable, but it was all Purple and Aqua at the finish line as the Bucs took it 66-57 for their third win of the year.
The Bucs overcame 20 turnovers in the contest, leading to 19 Titan points by holding Central Georgia Tech to just 33% shooting in the contest. Lindsay once again led the Bucs offense with 15 points while also corralling 9 rebounds and Paul chipped in 13 off the FSW bench while going 6-7 from the field.
FSW improves to 3-1 on the year with the victory while Central Georgia Tech falls to 1-4.
The Bucs will return to action on Friday at 7 in Suncoast Arena when they take on undefeated and 4th ranked Salt Lake to wrap up the FSW Classic. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the game and head up to the Hospitality Suite in the Arena to cheer on the FSW Volleyball team who will be playing in the NJCAA National Tournament Final Four against Trinity Valley beginning at 8 PM.
