DAVIE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern rallied back after a fire alarm suspended play in Barry University men’s basketball’s 72-70 loss at Taft University Center Wednesday.
Stian Berg hit a three to give Nova Southeastern a 70-68 lead with 1:13 to play, and Casey Carroll sank two free throws to extend it to four. Barry’s Magne Fivelstad scored on a reverse with 7.8 seconds left. After NSU’s Maurice Fuller missed a free throw, Deric Hill raced up the court, but Juan Ferrales couldn’t get a three to fall when he was knocked to the floor, and the Sharks survived.
Eight of the last nine games in the series have been decided by four points or loss. Six of those games have been decided by two points or less.
It was the Bucs second straight loss – the first time Barry has dropped back-to-back games this season.
Following a 15-minute delay and a five-minute warmup early in the second half when the sirens and alarms started going off, NSU (5-10, 2-2 Sunshine State Conference) sliced an 11-point Buccaneers lead to five on Carroll’s driving layup. Yunio Barrueta silenced the Sharks’ run with a dunk. Ferrales hit a three to put Barry (10-3, 1-3) ahead by eight, but Nova’s Justin Jeangerard hit a three to draw the Sharks within, 53-48. Ferrales converted a three-point play as the Bucs crept back up by eight.
Maurice Fuller hit a three as Nova tied the game at 58-58 with 6:00 left. Ferrales answered with a triple at the other end. Adrian Gonzalez canned a three to give the Bucs a four-point edge, but Fuller fired in another triple to bring the Sharks within one. Gonzalez’s putback on the offensive end gave the Buccaneers a 66-63 lead. But Nova finished the game with a 9-4 run to snatch one away from the Buccaneers, who led by as many as 12.
Barry shot 42.9 percent from the floor, hitting 27 of 63 field goals. Nova was 28 of 55 for 50.9 percent. The Sharks hit 57.7 percent of their shots in the second half, outscoring the Buccaneers by 11. NSU outscored Barry, 35-22, after the delay.
Ferrales had 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting. He was 4 of 6 from behind the 3-point arc. Barrueta recorded his fifth double-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Barrueta scored on a reverse lay-in two minutes into the second half as Barry built a 10-point lead.
Arie Williams hit a three, and Barrueta scored on a driving burst to give Barry a 30-18 lead with roughly five minutes left in the first half. Nova Southeastern cut it to nine after a Carroll dunk and Chris Page layup came on opposite ends of a basket by Barrueta and Williams triple. After Page sank a free throw with 15 seconds left, Ferrales scored on a driving lay-in three seconds before the buzzer to send Barry into the break ahead, 40-31.
Williams had three triples in the first half as the Bucs shot 6 of 16 from beyond the arc. Ferrales scored 13 points in the first half, and Barrueta had 10 points and seven boards.
The Buccaneers shot 44.1 percent in the opening half. The Sharks hit 44.8 percent of their field goals, but were 2 of 11 from three-point range.
Berg had 21 points, and Page 15. Williams and Gonzalez each scored nine, and Savad Garner had eight points and eight boards for the Buccaneers. Hill had eight of the Bucs’ 17 assists.
Barry plays at Eckerd Saturday at 4 p.m.