Smith's Dagger Downs St. Pete

Miami Dade had 20 minutes to find a pulse. Then the Sharks found everything.

Down eight at halftime and staring at a 75-71 deficit inside the final 20 seconds, Miami Dade closed the night with a flurry of stops, steals and one cold-blooded shot to steal a 76-75 comeback win over St. Petersburg.

The first half belonged to the visitors. St. Petersburg used timely threes and a steady stream of free throws to build control, taking a 33-25 lead into the break as Miami Dade struggled to get clean looks and left points on the floor.

But the Sharks came out of halftime with a different edge. David Verstraeten sparked the early push with back-to-back buckets to cut into the margin, and Anthony Breland started hunting space wherever it existed, in transition, in the lane and at the line. Miami Dade kept chipping, kept defending and kept turning possessions into chances until the game finally snapped into a one-possession fight.

The second half turned into a tug-of-war. St. Petersburg leaned on Carter McDole's finishing and Alexander Collado's shooting to answer every surge, tying the game at 62-62 with 4:18 left and grabbing the lead again moments later. Even then, Miami Dade never broke. Breland kept coming downhill, Verstraeten provided muscle around the rim and the Sharks kept forcing the Titans to earn everything.

St. Petersburg still looked like it had done enough.

Up 75-71 with 21 seconds left, the Titans were one stop away. Breland refused to let it end there, slicing to the rim for a quick left handed layup to make it 75-73. On the next possession, the Sharks' defense delivered the moment that changed everything. Breland jumped the passing lane for a steal with nine seconds left, setting up Miami Dade for one final shot.

With four seconds left, Jacopo Van Der Knapp swung the ball to Randy Smith in the corner where buried the go-ahead three to put the Sharks in front 76-75 and complete the comeback.

Breland led Miami Dade with 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting, adding four assists and two steals while carrying the Sharks through the second-half swing. Verstraeten finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, Gilkes added 12 and Smith's seven included the biggest points of the night. Leeroy Nijean battled for nine boards and two steals as Miami Dade won the glass battle and made the final play.

St. Petersburg was led by McDole's 20 and Moten's 17, but Miami Dade's late pressure and Smith's heroics flipped the script in the final seconds.