Red-hot shooting and dominance in the paint carried Florida SouthWestern past defending NJCAA champion Hutchinson CC (KS) 80-65 on Wednesday night, the first postseason victory for the second-year program.
Playing on the floor of the host Blue Dragons (29-7), the Buccaneers scored 28 of their 37 first half points in the paint as they led 37-29 with Tremell Murphy scoring eight points at halftime.
Florida SouthWestern (31-2) ran off a 25-8 run in the first 7:41 of the second half to take a 21-point lead, and the Buccaneers would cruise to the finish with freshman Tra'von Fagan going 8-for-9 from the field, good for 18 points and the forward added eight rebounds.
Sophomore Tyler Cheese scored 14 points and collected 10 assists, and Murphy along with ShanQuan Hemphill finished with 13 points each for the Buccaneers, who would finish with a 54-26 disparity in the points in the paint and shoot 52.5% from the floor for on the night.
Florida SouthWestern will take on No. 3 Vincennes (IN), an 86-83 winner over Motlow State in an earlier contest on Wednesday, at 9 p.m tonight.