MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The short-handed Barry Buccaneers hung with conference favorite Florida Southern for most of the game, but the Moccasins pulled away down the stretch for a 79-66 win In Sunshine State Conference men’s basketball action on Saturday in the Health & Sports Center.
Braxton Williams hit a three-pointer with 9:06 remaining to erase a 51-50 Barry advantage and the Moccasins (13-4, 3-1 SSC) never trailed.
The Bucs (6-7, 2-1 SSC), who trailed by 11 at the break, battled back over the first six minutes of the second period to tie the game at 45-45 on a three-pointer by Chris Uz. On their next possession, Zach Trapp gave the Bucs a three-point lead with a trey of his own.
Rob Eldridge led four Moccasins in double figures with 23 points. Rion Rayfield added 14 off the bench, while John Thompson had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Brandon Jenkins had 11 points. Karega Tucker had 17 points to lead the Bucs, while Erick Nsangou and Trapp each had 13.
The Bucs were without starters Brian Astigarraga and Chad Bishop, both out with injuries, and lost starting forward Willie Whitfield with 6:42 left in the first half.
The Bucs travel to Nova Southeastern on Wednesday, Jan. 14 to take on the Sharks in the Shark Tank.
Newspaper Box Score
Florida Southern vs Barry
01/10/09 3:30 pm at Miami Shores, FL
At Miami Shores, FL
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 79, BARRY 66
FLORIDA SOUTHERN (13-4, 3-1 SSC)
ELDRIDGE, Rob 8-11 5-6 23; RAYFIELD, Rion 4-10 3-3 14; THOMPSON, John 5-11
2-6 12; JENKINS, Brandon 4-11 0-1 11; SINGLETON, Rashaad 4-7 0-0 8;
WILLIAMS, Braxton 2-5 0-0 6; FREDRICK, Preston 1-4 1-2 3; SMITH, Zach 1-2
0-2 2. Totals 29-61 11-20 79.
BARRY (6-7, 1-2 SSC)
TUCKER, Karega 6-14 4-7 17; NSANGOU, Erick 5-10 2-2 13; TRAPP, Zach 5-7 0-0
13; MADYUN, Jamaal 2-3 1-2 5; UZ, Chris 2-5 0-1 5; MORRIS, Jeran 2-11 1-2 5;
CHIVERTON, Bryan 1-5 2-2 4; WHITFIELD, Willie 1-3 1-2 3; VISINKIS, Bartas
0-1 1-2 1. Totals 24-59 12-20 66.
Florida Southern.............. 34 45 - 79
Barry................................... 25 41 - 66
3-point goals--Florida Southern 10-22 (JENKINS, Brandon 3-5; RAYFIELD, Rion
3-9; WILLIAMS, Braxton 2-5; ELDRIDGE, Rob 2-3), Barry 6-12 (TRAPP, Zach 3-4;
NSANGOU, Erick 1-1; TUCKER, Karega 1-6; UZ, Chris 1-1). Fouled out--Florida
Southern-None, Barry-None. Rebounds--Florida Southern 40 (THOMPSON, John
13), Barry 36 (MORRIS, Jeran 7). Assists--Florida Southern 20 (WILLIAMS,
Braxton 6; JENKINS, Brandon 6), Barry 6 (NSANGOU, Erick 3). Total
fouls--Florida Southern 19, Barry 18. Technical fouls--Florida
Southern-None, Barry-None. A-243