FORT MYERS, FLA.- The #10 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers improved to 4-0 on the year Friday, holding visiting South Georgia Tech to just 36% shooting while forcing 23 turnovers in an 84-54 victory.
The Bucs got off to a quick start, scoring the first five points of the game before pushing their lead to 10-3 less than three minutes in.
A nearly four minute scoring drought for FSW allowed the Jets to make a run and after a 9-0 burst from the visitors, the Bucs found themselves in a 13-10 hole.
A coast to coast drive and score from Charles Manning Jr. got FSW back to within one and a triple from the LSU bound sophomore put the Bucs back in front 18-16 moments later.
After South Georgia Tech retook a 21-20 lead, FSW stepped on the gas, scoring the next 12 straight points to go back ahead 32-21 before pushing the lead to 37-24 before the break at half.
The Bucs held the Jets without a field goal for the final 8:22 of the half, outscoring South Georgia Tech 17-3 during that stretch.
FSW shot 44% in the half while holding South Georgia Tech to just 33% shooting. Manning Jr. led the Bucs with 11 first half points while DeShawn Thomas corralled five first half rebounds to lead the way for FSW.
The teams played even through the first five minutes of the second half before a 13-0 Buccaneer run, led by more Manning Jr. highlight reel plays, blew the game open to 66-37 midway through the period.
The Bucs took their largest lead of the game at 33 in the closing minutes as Terence Lewis II came off the bench and provided six quick points, before they went on to finish off an 84-54 win to remain perfect on the 2018-19 campaign.
FSW finished the night shooting 47% from the field while holding South Georgia Tech to just 36% overall. The Bucs also ramped up their intensity on the ball, forcing 23 Jet turnovers while coughing it up just 11 times of their own. FSW turned those 23 turnovers into 23 points while also winning the battle in the paint 32-20 and bench points 36-11.
Individually five Bucs reached double figures, again led by Manning Jr. with 17. Maddox Daniels pitched in 13 while Destin Barnes, Keon Ellis, and Lewis II each had 10.
The Bucs improve to 4-0 on the year while South Georgia Tech falls to 1-2.
FSW will be back in action Saturday in a 2 PM matinee when they host Game Changers Academy.
#10 FSW/SOUTH GEORGIA TECH BOX SCORE
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SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION ARENA
The Buccaneers compete in the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Suncoast Credit Union Arena is approximately 75,000 square feet and is home to the FSW basketball teams and a student athletic center. The arena seats approximately 3,300 fans and includes six skyboxes, a hospitality event center, competition courts that convert into recreational courts, athletic office space, student, faculty and staff wellness, and an athletic center with a fitness pavilion, men's and women's locker rooms and a weight training area. The arena has two Daktronics displays, on the north and south walls, that each measure 10 feet high by 20 feet wide. Both displays incorporate variable content zoning to each show one large image or they can be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages. One-hundred feet of ribbon displays have been installed on the east and west walls of the arena. The ribbons provide the opportunity to supplement the content on the main displays as well as highlight sponsors throughout events.