MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry ran into a hot team. There's not much else you can say.
No. 8 Florida Southern won its eighth straight game, beating the host Buccaneers, 98-78, Wednesday night at Health & Sports Center. It was the highest nationally-ranked team the Bucs (9-10, 3-7 Sunshine State Conference) have met since 2007 when they played No. 2 Grand Valley State at the Disney East Tip-Off Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Florida Southern, which ranks seventh in the country in scoring, scored over 90 points for the seventh straight game on 34 of 66 field goal shooting. The Moccasins (17-2, 9-1) were 14 of 28 from beyond the arc for 50 percent from long range.
"Florida Southern's trained to play that way," Buccaneers assistant coach Ryan Saunders said of the up-tempo pace the Mocs run. "We knew it was going to be tough. We wanted to play that way. I just don't think we have the horses that they do. For most of the first half, we tried to slow down the pace, but we just missed a lot of easy ones. Give them credit. They play at a high pace, and we dug ourselves a hole. That's how they play. They make you make plays. We just didn't do that early when we needed to keep contact, keep it close. Then in the second half, they just kind of ran away with it."
Barry's Justin McCoy, who scored 18 points, hit a three-pointer at the 11:51 mark in the first half to tie the game at 15-15. But the Bucs never led in the game.
The Mocs led by as many as 13 in the first half. Bucs forward Magne Fivelstad sank a pair of free throws at the 16:05 mark in the second half as Barry cut it to nine, but that's as close as it would get. Florida Southern, which outproduced the Buccaneers in bench points, 41-12, built an 18-point lead with 6:45 remaining. Vladimir Raymonvil's layup with 3:05 to go helped Barry cut it to 15, but the Mocs outscored the Bucs, 12-7, the rest of the way.
The Buccaneers shot a paltry 5 of 22 from three-point range. Barry outscored Florida Southern, 44-36, in the paint. The Moccasins converted 21 Bucs turnovers into 25 points. The Buccaneers were outrebounded, 41-38.
Five players scored in double figures for Florida Southern. Cameron Vines had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Seth Evans finished with 19 points and nine assists for the Mocs.
Barry's Chad Renfro went 6 of 12 from the field, finishing with 15 points and four rebounds. Filip Toric had 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He was 5 of 7 from the floor. Damien Dwaine had 10 points, eight boards and a block.
Barry plays at Saint Leo Saturday.
"The conference doesn't get any easier," Saunders said. "We've got to go on the road to Saint Leo. We've got the longest trip of the year. They're playing good basketball. They're one of the best teams in the league. But we just got to try to motivate our guys, try to get them to rise to the occasion."