Ocala, Fla.-- When things got tough, the College of Central Florida men's basketball team turned to its defense to lock down St. Petersburg College on Wednesday night.

The Patriots forced overtime by holding the Titans to just three field goals over the final 11 minutes and came up strong in the extra session and went on to a 77-72 win.

CF has now won 29 consecutive home games dating back to December 7, 2011.

In order to do this, the Patriots rallied from down 16 points with 14:53 left.

The comeback was the largest at home for CF since it battled back from down 23 in a 105-103 win over State College of Florida-Manatee.

CF never trailed in the extra session after a basket by Chris Bryant, but got all it wanted down the stretch from the Titans.

After a follow by Javonte Douglas with 2:08 remaining, the Patriots led 72-66 and kept their edge at five with 24.6 seconds after a free throw by Rasham Suarez.

SPC got a basket from Prince Foster with 16.2 seconds left and had a chance to tie after a pair of missed free throws by Douglas with 14.9 seconds on the clock.

The Titans' chance to tie came up short, however, as Reggie Small missed a 3-pointer with six seconds left.

On the miss by Small, Rodell Wigginton got the rebound and found Douglas on the run out for a dunk with 4.8 seconds on the clock.

To have the chance for the comeback, the Patriots held the Titans to 12-of-40 shooting over the second half and overtime, which was compounded by a 2-of-15 effort from beyond the arc.

CF tied the game up for the second time in the waning minutes on a pair of free throws by Suarez at the 38.7 second mark.

The Titans had the chance to take the lead, but Larry Murphy missed a shot from the top of the key and the Patriots pushed the ball into the frontcourt and called timeout with 2.7 seconds remaining.

Suarez, though, lost the ball out-of-bounds and SPC had the final shot in regulation.

Small, however, could only get a heave from 65 feet away that hit the side of the backboard and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, CF made 5-of-8 shots and made the plays when it needed to make them to keep its homecourt streak going.

Wigginton led the Patriots with 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Bryant played a monster game on the inside for CF and finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

Suarez came off the bench to add 18 points, while Douglas contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

For the game, CF also made 26-of-36 shots from the foul line compared to 6-of-12 by SPC.

The Patriots struggled in the early going, as they were hit with a 23-4 run and trailed by 15 at the 11:38 mark of the first half.

From there, CF got the momentum thanks to a 10-0 run, which was capped by a layup by Wigginton with 3:31 left before halftime and made the score 34-30.

St. Petersburg, which made 6-of-10 shots from 3-point range during the opening half, hit a pair of late shots from long range and was able to maintain a 42-35 halftime lead.

The Patriots had a span of 4:49 without a point early in the game, which saw the Titans score 13 straight points.

To keep close, CF made 10-of-13 shots from the free throw line to offset a 1-of-7 effort from 3-point range during the first half.

Bryant made 6-of-6 from the charity stripe on his way to a 12-point, seven-rebound performance during the opening half.

SPC, meanwhile, moved the ball well and assisted on 14-of-17 baskets over the first 20 minutes of action on its way to the lead at the halftime break.

CF, ranked No. 3 in the FCSAA, will host South Georgia State on Saturday night at 8.