FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The #10 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers suffered a rare conference loss Saturday night on the road at Indian River, battling back to tie the game at 75 and force overtime, before falling 87-83 in the extra period to snap an eight game winning streak.  It is the Bucs first conference loss in 43 games, with their last loss coming over four years ago, on February 15, 2017.  

 

It was a back and forth affair early on with Indian River getting out to a 14-12 lead 6:30 into the contest.  The Pioneers extended their lead to seven at the midway point of the half, but the Bucs battled back to get to within two on a drive and score from Terry Roberts with 8:15 to go in the period.  The Bucs just couldn't get over the hump in the first half and remained close until a 6-0 run for Indian River opened up the Pioneers first double digit lead of the game at 36-26 with 3:05 left in the half.  A late three from CJ Lane helped the Bucs cut into the Pioneers lead, but at the break it was still Indian River with a comfortable cushion at 37-30. 

 

The second half was more of the same as the teams traded baskets with Indian River continuing to hold FSW at arms length. The Bucs finally got it to a one possession game with 5:22 remaining when Kario Oquendo went coast to coast for two and Jonathan Dos Anjos tied the game at 65 on the Bucs next trip down the floor.  The Bucs took their first lead of the game on a Dos Anjos finish in the paint with 3:58 to go and pushed their lead to four moments later when Oquendo connected from downtown.  After a bucket from the Pioneers cut it to a two point game, a technical foul on the FSW bench allowed Indian River to hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 73 with 1:37 to go in regulation. After two more free throws for the Pioneers to take a momentary lead, Jaden Campbell nailed a jump shot and was fouled, but was unable to finish the three point play as the score remained deadlocked at 75 with under one minute to go.  Both sides came up empty on their final possession of regulation and they went to overtime tied at 75.  

 

The Bucs started the extra period by giving it to Dos Anjos on the inside, who got the hoop and the harm to give FSW a quick three point lead. They went cold from there though as Indian River went on a 9-0 run with the Bucs going empty on four straight possessions to give the Pioneers an 84-78 lead with 1:32 to go in the extra period. The Bucs got back to within three on an and one from Roberts, but they were unable to get any closer than that as Indian River got a late free throw to ice it and take down the 10th ranked Bucs 87-83. 

 

FSW shot 45% in the contest, but turned it over 18 times, leading to 23 Indian River points in the loss. Dos Anjos scored a career high 20 for the Bucs while Campbell added 19.  

 

The loss snaps an eight game winning streak for FSW as they fall to 11-2 while dropping their first conference game in 44 outings to drop to 5-1 in league play. Indian River improves to 11-2 overall and 5-2 in Southern Conference action. 

 

The Bucs will look to get back on track on Wednesday when they return home to Suncoast Credit Union Arena to host Miami Dade in a 7:30 PM tip.