NICEVILLE, Fla.- In what seemed to be the story of their season, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers suffered another last second defeat Wednesday night in the opening round of the FCSAA State Tournament in Niceville, watching as #9 Northwest Florida State was fouled and made a free throw with 2.7 seconds remaining to come away with a 66-65 win to end the Buccaneers 2024 season. 

 

It was a slugfest from the start between the Bucs and Raiders as they were tied at 7 six minutes into the contest and remained tied at 16 midway through the first half. They continued to go blow for blow without either able to gain any ground until Jaehshon Thomas nailed a three and Dezdrick Lindsay finished in traffic to put the Bucs up five, 25-20 with just under six minutes to go in the half. The Bucs took their largest lead of the game after Karmani Gregory hit a three to make it a 28-20 game with 5:02 to go in the first, but the Raiders stormed back with a 10-1 run to retake a 30-29 lead of their own with under 2:00 to go in the half. Yvens Paul got the final four points of the half for the Bucs to give FSW a 35-32 lead as the teams went to the locker rooms at the break. 

 

The game flow continued to be gritty as the second half got underway with Cole Franklin slashing through the lane for a tough two in the lane to break a 42-42 tie and put the Bucs ahead with 12:01 to go in regulation. A Tyrone Baker bucket put the Bucs up four, but Northwest Florida answered right back with four of their own to level the score once again at 48 midway through the second. Neither team would budge as the Bucs and Raiders continued to go back and forth to a 61-61 deadlock with under 5:00 remaining. Baker hit a pair of clutch free throws with exactly 1:00 to tie the game back up at 65 and after a defensive stop, the Bucs had the ball with 35 seconds to go with a chance to take the lead. They weren't able to do that as the Bucs turned the ball over and gave it back to the Raiders with the shot clock off. Northwest made a drive to the basket with the clock winding down and the Bucs committed a foul at the rim with 2.7 seconds left to send the Raiders to the line with the game on the line.  The Raiders hit their first free throw to take a one point lead but missed the second, giving the Bucs a last second prayer from half court that was not answered as Northwest Florida walked away with a 66-65 win to end the Bucs season. 

 

FSW shot 51% in the game, but managed just 45 field goal attempts in the loss thanks in large part to a dominating effort on the glass from the Raiders which included 19 offensive boards. Thomas led the Bucs with 22 points and was the only FSW player to score in double figures in the loss. 

 

The Bucs finish the 2024 season 22-9 while Northwest advances to the tournament semifinals while improving to 27-4.