MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- These close calls are becoming all too common place for the Buccaneers.
Barry University men's basketball team survived another overtime game, beating Florida Tech, 86-80, Wednesday in the Sunshine State Conference opener. It was the Bucs' second straight overtime game, both of which they've won.
"We survived is right," Barry assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. "It wasn't a pretty game for both teams."
Barry (6-3, 1-0 SSC) led by 13 following a layup by Aaron Martin with 6:46 to play, but Florida Tech (5-4, 0-1) trimmed the lead to five on Chris Carter's basket at the 4:17 mark. Terrance Tubbs and Carter each hit three-pointers for the Panthers to pull within one with 2:16 remaining. Cameron Stahl scored with 1:15 to go to give Tech a 69-68 lead.
Justin McCoy hit a tough off-balance shot and sank the ensuing free throw at the 1:02 mark to push the Buccaneers back in front by two. Jermaine Jackson scored for Florida Tech with 25 seconds remaining to tie the game at 71-71, and Barry couldn't convert on its last-shot opportunity, forcing overtime.
Jackson hit a triple at the 4:18 mark in overtime to push the Panthers up, 74-73. Martin sank four straight free throws, giving the Bucs a three-point lead. After Barry's Damien Dwaine split a pair from the stripe, Tech's Julius Reid sank a pair to cut it two with 2:08 to play.
But Bryan Van Cott sank his next four free throws, and Martin hit a couple more as Barry extended its lead to eight, and the Panthers couldn't recover.
Martin scored a season-high 21 points and had eight rebounds and three steals. He was 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Van Cott finished with 17, sinking all 10 of his free throws. His 10-for-10 effort from the line is tied for fifth all-time in Barry single-game history, matching Vladimir Raymonvil's 10 of 10 performance against Johnson & Wales last season. Calix N'Diaye holds the school record, going 14-for-14 at Florida Southern on Feb. 12, 2005.
Barry was 28 of 34 from the line.
The Bucs led by as many as 11 with 11:40 to play in the first half, but Tech outscored Barry, 20-12, the rest of the way to draw within three at the break. Florida Tech climbed ahead by four on a jumper in the paint by Carter at the 14:53 mark of the second half. But Raymonvil sank two free throws and then canned a big three with 11:31 to go to push the Buccaneers ahead, 49-46. Barry built the lead to 13 before the Panthers used a 16-2 run to take a one-point lead with 1:15 to go.
Reid finished with 18 points and eight assists, and Carter had 16 points, seven assists and six boards for the Panthers, who shot 41.1 percent from the floor.
McCoy had 14 points and four assists, and Bouna N'Diaye had 11 points, hitting three triples for the Buccaneers, which hit 37.9 percent of their field goals.
Barry outscored Florida Tech, 30-4, in points off turnovers. The Bucs also outscored the Panthers, 19-6, in transition. Barry's bench outproduced Tech, 23-8.