WINTER PARK, Fla. – Barry University fought through adversity of a different kind in beating Rollins on the road Wednesday night, 73-64.
“We have to adjust to different defenses,” Barry power forward Jevoni Robinson said. “Other teams throw different defenses at us during the game.”
In this case, it was the Tars zone that created first half difficulties, allowing Rollins to get out to a nine-point lead – the first time this season Barry has trailed at the break. Rollins (7-6, 0-2 Sunshine State Conference) shot 62.5 percent in the first half, including 54.5 percent from 3-point range. Barry (10-1, 3-0) hit 39.3 percent of its first half shots, going just 2-for-8 from long distance.
“While we were in the locker room, we decided we were going to take the momentum away from them,” said Robinson, who had 10 rebounds, six points and two blocks in an unsung hero role. “In the first half, the speed of the game was played to their favor. In the second half, we were able to speed it up.”
It wasn’t until the 9:28 mark in the second half where Barry grabbed its first lead on a Yunio Barrueta three-pointer. He hit another on the next trip down the floor to put the Buccaneers ahead by four on one of Deric Hill’s eight assists.
With those eight assists, Hill reached 300 in his two-year Barry career. He ranks third in school history all-time.
Hill sank three straight free throws over two possessions to extend the Bucs lead to seven, but Chris Uhle buried one of his five triples, and Jeff Dirkin hit a free throw as the Tars cut the gap to two, 58-56, with 6:22 left.
Robinson followed up a missed shot with one of his six offensive rebounds, flushing home a dunk with 5:32 remaining on the clock, and Arie Williams added a driving layup to extend Barry’s lead back out to nine.
Robinson, whose flying-out-of-nowhere block with 8:10 remaining protected a four-point lead, had two offensive rebounds on one possession inside the four-minute mark, and Williams grabbed another. All of it led to two Anders Haas free throws that put Barry ahead by 13.
“I was just thinking, ‘get my hands on every ball I can.’ Offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds,” Robinson said. “I was also trying to play helpside defense. I just wanted to contest every shot, and make it tough for them and disrupt every shot.”
Robinson’s 10 boards marked the second straight game and the third time this year he’s reached double-digit rebounds. But his hustle to get back and block the shot at the 8:10 mark on a breakaway Tars basket opportunity was one of the defensive gems of the season.
“I was a safety,” Robinson said. “I was being overly aggressive in stepping up, wanting to go for every steal. I just used my athleticism to block it.”
Barry, which shot 60 percent in the second half, finished 16 of 18 from the free throw line. Hill was 7-for-8 in a game he finished with 17 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Barrueta had 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting, and pulled down nine rebounds. He hit three of his six triple tries. Uhle finished with 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting for the Tars, who were 2-for-8 from the free throw line.
Barry outrebounded Rollins, 33-18, marking the 11th straight opponent the Bucs have beaten on the glass.
More than anything, it was a win in a game where an ominous start had things working against the Buccaneers.
“It’s definitely a breathtaking moment after beating the No. 1 team in the country,” Robinson said, the remnants of Barry’s win at Florida Southern still lingering. “We’re definitely going to learn from this, and make sure we come out and execute from the start of the game.”