FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers dialed up a big early season Citrus Conference win Wednesday night at home in Suncoast Credit Union Arena, hammering #19 Eastern Florida 75-60 to snap a 47-game conference winning streak for the Titans dating back to 2021. 

 

The Bucs got off to a bit of a slow start, falling behind 6-2 to begin the contest, but they quickly got things going as Asiana Britt hit a three and Samantha Serrano hit two more to put FSW in front 11-6. The teams traded baskets from there until a pair of finishes by Delfina Cergneux on the inside gave the Bucs a 19-14 lead at the end of one quarter of action. 

 

Sarah Owona slashed through the lane and once again found Cergneux for an easy two in the paint to stretch the Bucs lead to seven early in the second, but four straight from the Titans cut it to a one possession game at 21-18 with 7:48 left in the half. The Bucs got 8 out of the next 10 to push their lead back to nine when a three from Ivy Brown from the top gave them their first double digit lead of the game at 34-23 with 4:10 remaining in the half. The Bucs continued to be on target from deep as Owona made a long jumper and then closed the half with a three from the corner to give FSW a commanding 41-29 lead at the break. 

 

The half didn't slow the Bucs down as Brown converted a three point play to make it a 15 point game and a three from Britt padded the FSW lead to 54-37 later in the quarter. At the end of the third it was all Purple and Aqua with FSW in front of the Titans 59-39. 

 

A layup from Georgi Buzzetti midway through the fourth gave FSW their largest lead of the game at 21 and the Titans never threatened again. Serrano sliced through the lane and finished in traffic to keep the Bucs up big at 71-51 and they dribbled things out at the final buzzer on the right side of a 75-60 final score. 

 

The Bucs shot 57% from the field in the win and connected on 50% from beyond the arc.  Six players scored in double figures led by Serrano and Britt who both put in 14 while Buzzetti notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Owona had 10 points and dished out a career high 7 assists. 

 

FSW wins their fourth straight to improve to 6-3 on the year while picking up their third win over a ranked opponent during the streak.  The Bucs take the early lead in the Citrus Conference standings with a 2-0 mark. Eastern Florida drops to 8-2 overall and sees a 47 game conference winning streak come to an abrupt halt as they fall back to 1-1 in early league action. 

 

The Bucs will look to make it five in a row when they hit the road in Citrus Conference play for the first time on Saturday to take on Dayton State in Daytona Beach in a 2 PM matinee start on the Fun Coast.