Posted: Jan 22, 2022
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- Playing for the second time in their second state in less than 48 hours, the #18 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers shook off a slow start Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg to come away with a 67-57 win over the Titans, their 15th of the 2021-2022 season.
Not completely unexpectedly, the Bucs got off to a slow start against the Titans, failing to score in the first four minutes of the contest as they fell behind 6-0. They quickly recovered, scoring the next six to even the score before taking their first lead of the game at 14-11 with 3:01 left in the period when Sariana Rodriguez splashed down a three from long distance. The two teams combined to go 0-10 from the field with six turnovers in the final three minutes of the quarter, neither side denting the scoreboard as the game went to the second with FSW leading 14-11.
Another Rodriguez triple early in the second stretched the Bucs lead to six, but they couldn't build on it any further as St. Pete stormed back to tie the score at 20 midway through the quarter before taking a 24-20 lead following a 4:34 scoreless drought for the Bucs. FSW remained in trail position for the remainder of the half until a late steal and score from Macarena Retamales at the first half horn gave the Bucs a one point lead at 27-26 as the teams went to the break.
The Bucs looked a little bit more like the 18th ranked team in the country as the second half began, scoring the first nine points of the third quarter to take their largest lead to that point in the game at 36-26 just three minutes in. St. Pete showed some fight, trimming the FSW lead back to three with 3:09 remaining in the third, but another burst by the Bucs, this one a 6-0 jaunt quickly stretched it back to a nine point game at 47-38 with 1:41 left in the period. There wasn't much going for either side for the rest of the quarter as the Bucs took an eight point lead, 48-40 into the fourth.
Back to back easy buckets for Aaliyah Williams down low early in the fourth extended the Bucs lead to a dozen and the Titans never threatened again. FSW kept St. Pete at arms length the rest of the way, never letting them back to within less than eight before finishing them off 67-57 at the final horn.
The Bucs shot the ball relatively well in the win, hitting on 46% from the field and 42% from three, but getting shots off was an issue as they turned the ball over a season high 27 times, leading to 20 points in the contest for the Titans. Rodriguez filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Bucs in the win while Retamales chipped in 14 points and 4 assists.
FSW improves to 15-4 with the victory while St. Pete's frustrations continue to mount as they fall to 5-13 on the year.
The Bucs return to Southern Conference play on Wednesday when they travel back up to Tampa to take on Hillsborough in a 5:30 PM tip.