MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University men's basketball team hosts Eckerd in a big Sunshine State Conference game 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at Health & Sports Center.
The Buccaneers (10-11, 4-8 SSC) are coming off a four-point win on the road at Lynn Wednesday. But Barry lost to the Tritons (14-6, 7-5) in St. Petersburg by 12 earlier last month.
"The post players this game are going to have their hands full," Barry's Damien Dwaine said, alluding to Eckerd's muscle inside.
Eckerd's Darrien Mack leads the Tritons in scoring at 17.4 points per game, and leads the conference in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game. He is shooting 52.8 percent from the floor, and is averaging 2.2 steals per game. Mack has four double-doubles this season. In the first game against the Bucs, Mack scored 24 points and had seven rebounds. Malcolm Brunner Jr. had 17 points and 12 boards.
So how can Barry contain that?
"Team defense is what it comes down to," said Dwaine, who is averaging 6 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Eckerd ranks 35th in the nation in free throw shooting at 74.6 percent. Barry is 45th at 73.8 percent. Eckerd's Alex Bodney is shooting 86.7 percent from the stripe, which ranks 29th in the nation.
Barry led by as many as 10 points late in the first half in the first meeting this season, but the Tritons shot 52 percent in the second half, and Barry hit just 7 of 33 field goals in the final 20 minutes.
"We've got to get on a roll," Dwaine said. "We're hungry. We still know that we haven't done anything that we expected to. We've underachieved.
"The energy that we had in practice the two days before the Lynn game was great, and the energy we've had since that game has been great."
On a weekend when alumni are returning to campus to set up homecoming week, a win over the Tritons would be huge.
"I think it's a statement game just to show that we can get back on track," Dwaine said.
Watch the game on the Bucs Broadcast Network. Mike Laderman will handle the call. Follow the game via LIVE STATS.
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Barry ended a three-game losing streak with a 65-61 win at Lynn Wednesday ... Justin McCoy had 23 pts ... Magne Fivelstad had 20.
SERIES RECORD: Barry is 21-39 all-time vs. Eckerd ... The Bucs lost the first meeting between the two teams earlier this year in St. Petersburg ... Barry won two of three meetings last year vs. the Tritons.
EYES ON OPPONENT: The Tritons are coming off a 71-65 win at Tampa Wednesday ... Darrien Mack scored his 1,000th career point Wednesday ... He leads the Tritons in scoring (17.2) and is the SSC’s leading rebounder (7.8) ... Alex Bodney is averaging 11. 9 ppg ... Woody Taylor is second in the SSC in assists at 5.1 per game.
TRIPLE TROUBLES: Barry and Eckerd rank eighth and ninth, respectively in the SSC in three-point field goal percentage ... Barry is shooting 32.3 percent ... Eckerd is shooting 31.5 percent.
McCOY INTO 20-SOMETHING: Barry Sr. G Justin McCoy has scored over 20 points five times this year ... He’s reached double figures in 19 of the 21 games.
TORIC TIME: Barry Sr. F Filip Toric has scored in double figures in six straight games ... He leads the team with three double-doubles ... He ranks second in the SSC in rebounds (7.3) with a career-high of 14 boards at NAIA nationally-ranked St. Thomas earlier this season ... He leads the SSC in defensive rebounds (5.9).
FREE THROW FRENZY: Soph. F Magne Fivelstad sank all 10 free throws in Wednesday’s win at Lynn ... His performance matched Bryan Van Cott’s 10-for-10 against Florida Tech in January ... The school record is 14-for-14 by Calix N’Diaye on Feb. 12, 2005 at Florida Southern.
RENFRO’s SWEET 17: Barry Sr. G Chad Renfro is the school’s 17th best career three-point shooter ... He ranks 17th in three categories: triples made (75), triples attempted (225) and three-point percentage (.333).
VLAD CHASING HISTORY: Barry Sr. G Vladimir Raymonvil ranks second all-time in school history in free throw percentage (.820) in his four years with the Bucs ... Brent Williams (1991-93) owns the top spot at .824.