NICEVILLE, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Basketball teams have arrived in Niceville and are set for the 2020 FCSAA State Tournament which begins Wednesday, March 4th for the FSW Men and Thursday, March 5th for the Buccaneer Women.  

 

The FSW Men will get things underway on Wednesday as they battle the runners-up from the Panhandle Conference, the Gulf Coast State Commodores in the first round. The Bucs and Commodores will tip of at 3:00 (CST) from Raider Arena in Niceville.  

 

The FSW Women face a tough draw as they battle Defending National Champions Gulf Coast as well in the opening round.  Those two teams will tip off in a 3:00 (CST) start on Thursday.  

 

All FSW games in the 2020 tournament will be shown live on the videoboards in Suncoast Credit Union Arena free of charge.  Doors will open at 3:30 (EST) both Wednesday and Thursday for the first round games.  No outside food or drink will be allowed inside the arena, but concessions will be available for each game.  The FSW Bookstore will also be on hand selling Suncoast Conference Champion t-shirts in the lobby of the arena. 

 

The first round of the NJCAA Region VIII Tournament gets going this afternoon Wednesday in Raider Arena as the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, the Champions of the Suncoast Conference, take on the Gulf Coast State Commodores, the runners-up in the Panhandle Conference. 

 

The Buccaneers and the Commodores have not crossed paths before as Wednesday marks their first all-time meeting. 

 

FSW enters the tournament at 29-1 on the year and on a 22 game winning streak dating all the way back to November 22nd when they dropped an overtime battle to Snow. The Bucs spent the final four weeks of the regular season as the #1 ranked team in the country, a year after ending the regular season on a five week run as the nation's top team. FSW is led by Suncoast Conference Player of the Year Keon Ellis who is averaging 18.0 points per game on the year. Earlier this season Ellis broke an all-time school record with a 41 point performance at home against St. Petersburg. On the inside, the Bucs look to freshman Jermaine Marshall who averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds per game in league play, racking up 10 double-doubles in 12 FSW contests. 

 

Gulf Coast is this year's Cinderella, making their first State Tournament appearance since 2009 and just their second in the past 37 seasons. The Commodores can put points up in a hurry, averaging 90.3 points per game which ranks third in the state. They are led by Cameron Holden who is averaging a double-double this season, ranking second in the state at both 20.6 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. 

 

For the third time this season, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers and the Gulf Coast State Commodores meet Thursday at Raider Arena in Niceville in the quarterfinal round of the 2020 NJCAA Region VIII Tournament. FSW, the Champions of the Suncoast Conference goes into the tournament ranked 12th in the country while Gulf Coast St., the runners-up in the Panhandle Conference, enter ranked 6th. 

 

The Bucs and the Commodores have become very familiar with each other over the past two seasons as Thursday marks their third date this season and their third straight season to see each other in the Region VIII Tournament. Their first two meetings this season followed eerily similar scripts as FSW got out to big leads in both games before seeing a furious late game comeback by Gulf Coast to win both contests. In the first matchup, FSW led by 19 early in the second half and never trailed in regulation, but a late circus shot by Ahlana Smith sent the game to overtime where the Commodores prevailed 97- 89. Smith finished with 39 in the win while Za'Nautica Downs had 32 in the losing effort for the Bucs. The second time around, the Bucs again held a 19 point second half lead and again Gulf Coast roared back for a last second, 64-62 win. 

 

FSW is led by Suncoast Conference Player of the Year Za'Nautica Downs who finished the season 4th in the state in scoring at 18.8 points per game. The Bucs are the second highest scoring team in the state at 83.0 points per game and have dominated the glass this season, outrebounding their opponents by 16.4 per night to lead the state. The Bucs would prefer an up and down game as their 2324 shots attempted this season are second most in the state and nearly 200 more than anyone else this year. 

 

The defending National Champion Commodores are led by Louisville signee Ahlana Smith who finished second in the state in scoring this season at 20.8 per ballgame. The Commodores are rock solid on the defensive end of the floor, allowing their opponents just 58.8 points per game and take care of the ball, turning it over just 13 times a night.

 

To stay up to date on the tournament action including pictures, stats, stories, and more, follow the Bucs on social media at @FSWBucs on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram throughout the week.