In two of the last three trips to Eckerd, the tension in the McArthur Center has been razor sharp.
Barry won two of those three games by a total of five points -- one of them being decided by a gamewinning three-pointer with four seconds left.
"It's tough to win on that court," Buccaneers assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. "They play very, very well at home. Just their physicality in the past allowed them to stay in games. We've been lucky to go up there and steal a couple. Hopefully it's not as close this year, but we're going to have to come to play for all 40 minutes. We'll have to play through a lot of adversity going up there."
No. 3/4 Barry (14-1, 6-0 Sunshine State Conference) will make another trip to St. Petersburg to meet Eckerd (9-7, 3-4) at 4 p.m. Saturday in a game to be carried on the Buccaneers Broadcast Network radio stream.
"Eckerd's one of the most physical teams, not only in the conference, but in the nation," Saunders said. "They beat us up twice last year, and gave us a rough game in the conference tournament. Their style of play is they're going to try to overpower you, pound it inside, get to the free throw line and really try and beat you up the entire game on both ends."
Eckerd's Jerrick Stevenson is averaging 14 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. E.J. Moody is the league's best free throw shooter. He's shooting 94.7 percent from the line, where he is 36 of 38 on the season. Malcolm Brunner Jr. (9.7 ppg), Kevin Walsh (8.9) and Ray Darnell (8.8) are also capable scorers. Walsh is also shooting over 90 percent from the free throw line.
"They have a good point guard in E.J. Moody, who runs the show and is a terrific shooter," Saunders said. "Jerrick Stevenson is one of the best scorers in this league. He can create his own shot, and hits very, very tough shots. They have big guys inside. Ray Darnell gave us some fits last year. He's a tough guy. He's going to be a load, tough to match up with."
Needless to say, low-post matchups will be big in this one, especially on the glass. The Buccaneers have outrebounded 14 of their 15 opponents this year. Barry ranks ninth in the country in rebound margin, bettering its opponents by 9.3 boards per game. But the Bucs narrowly outrebounded Lynn Wednesday on the road, 44-42. Eckerd is averaging 35.3 rebounds per game.
Barry's bench accounted for just 18 of its 80 points, and 13 of the 44 rebounds Wednesday. That's area the coaching staff is seeking more production from come Saturday.
"Our bench is going to be key against them, especially if we're playing as hard as we can," Saunders said. "Guys are gonna get subbed out, so our bench is going to be huge in this game."
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Barry held off Lynn on the road Wednesday to take over sole possession of first place in the league ... Yunio Barrueta had 22 points, 8 rebounds and was 11 of 11 from the free throw line ... Juan Ferrales had 14 points and seven rebounds.
SERIES RECORD: Barry is 22-42 all-time against Eckerd ... The Tritons won two of the three meetings last year, including an 83-73 victory in the first round of the SSC Tournament.
EYES ON OPPONENTS: The Tritons are coming off a 69-64 loss at Saint Leo Wednesday ... Jerrick Stevenson is averaging 14 ppg and 5.5 reb ... E.J. Moody is scoring 9.9 ppg, leads the SSC in FT shooting (.947) and is shooting 43% from 3-pt range ... Malcolm Brunner Jr. is averaging 9.7 ppg, leads the team in rebounding (6.8) and shooting 55.4 percent from the field.
ESTES & ECKERD: Eckerd is the only school in the SSC Bucs head coach Butch Estes had a history with before taking over at Barry ... Estes’ teams are 2-2 all-time against the Tritons, dating back to 1984 when his Presbyterian College team beat Eckerd, 83-71, in the McArthur Center.
CLOSE CALLS: The last two Barry wins at Eckerd (2012 and 2014) were decided by a total of five points ... The Bucs beat the Tritons, 68-65, last year in St. Petersburg ... Barry won 68-66 in 2012 on a last-second shot.
SCHOOL RECORD: Barry went 30-for-31 from the free throw line Wednesday at Lynn to set a school record for FT percentage (.968).
DARK HORSE DUNKER: Sr. F Jevoni Robinson will be entered in a Dark Horse Dunker competition on Facebook in February ... He will need votes in a bracket style Facebook competition to advance.
DERIC’S DIMES: Sr. PG Deric Hill, who tied a school record with 16
assists vs. Nova Southeastern Jan. 17, ranks third in the country in assists per game (8.2) and total assists (123).
BOARD WORK: Jevoni Robinson is averaging a team-best 9.7 rebounds per game in SSC play ... Yunio Barrueta is pulling down 9.2 in the SSC.
SCORING SPIKE: Deric Hill is scoring 12.7 ppg in conference games, up from his 9.5 ppg average ... He’s reached double figures in 5 of 6 SSC games.
He’s scoring 9.5 ppg this year.
2014-15 BUCS RECORD WHEN ...
Overtime Games: 0-0
Home Games: 9-1
Road Games: 3-0
Neutral Games: 2-0
Night Games: 11-1
Day Games: 3-0
Leading at Halftime: 12-1
Trailing at Halftime: 2-0
Tied at Halftime: 0-0
After a Loss: 1-0
Scoring 80+ points: 10-0
Scoring 70-79 points: 3-1
Scoring 60-69 points: 1-0
Scoring 50-59 points: 0-0
Games Decided by 2 points or Less: 0-0
Games Decided by 5 points or Less: 1-1
Games Decided by 10 points or Less: 6-1
Games Decided by 11-20 Points: 2-0
Games Decided by over 20 Points: 6-0
Outrebounding Opponents: 13-1
Opponents Outrebound Bucs: 1-0
Matching Opponents in Rebounds: 0-0
Committing 15 or Fewer Turnovers: 8-0
Committing over 15 Turnovers: 6-1