LAKELAND, Fla. – The Barry University men’s basketball team battled, but lost at Florida Southern, 72-59, Saturday night in Sunshine State Conference action.
Barry (8-13, 3-8 SSC) held tough in the early minutes of the first half, as a Bartas Visinkis jumper nearly seven minutes in gave the Bucs a four-point edge.
The Bucs would continue to hold a steady lead through the first half, as Erick Nsangou drilled a jumper at the 8:41 mark to give Barry their largest lead of the night.
Florida Southern (20-5, 9-2 SSC) then began to find their legs, as they dominated the rest of the first half, closing the final 8:41 on a 15-0 run.
Barry would fight back moderately in the second half, as Bryan Chiverton gave the Bucs a boost off the bench and muscled inside the paint for a layup to trim the Mocs’ lead to four with 13 minutes to play.
FSC would go on another lengthy run to put the game out of reach, as they outscored the Bucs 19-3 over a six-minute stretch to expand the lead to 25.
Willie Whitfield had a strong night inside for Barry, as he tallied 11 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal. Chiverton provided a solid spark off the bench, as in his 12 minutes on the floor, he produced 10 points and several hustle plays. Chris Uz also had a solid night off the bench, as he tallied nine points.
Rob Eldridge and Rion Rayfield caught fire in the second half for the Mocs, as the two combined for 29 points, with Eldridge scoring 15.
Barry will slide out of conference action this Wednesday when they welcome in Palm Beach Atlantic to the Health and Sports Center beginning at 7:30 p.m.
PBA defeated the Bucs, 73-69, in overtime back on Nov. 29.
Newspaper Box Score
Barry vs Florida Southern
02/07/09 7:30 p.m. at Lakeland, FL
At Lakeland, FL
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 72, BARRY 59
BARRY (8-13, 3-8 SSC)
WHITFIELD, Willie 4-9 3-4 11; CHIVERTON, Bryan 5-8 0-3 10; NSANGOU, Erick
2-5 5-5 9; UZ, Chris 3-6 2-2 9; TRAPP, Zach 2-5 0-0 6; TUCKER, Karega 2-12
0-0 5; VISINKIS, Bartas 2-4 1-2 5; MADYUN, Jamaal 2-9 0-0 4; MORRIS, Jeran
0-1 0-0 0; TERRY, Terrell 0-1 0-0 0; ASTIGARRAGA, Bryan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
22-61 11-16 59.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN (20-5, 9-2 SSC)
ELDRIDGE, Rob 6-12 1-2 15; RAYFIELD, Rion 6-10 0-0 14; JENKINS, Brandon 3-8
2-2 9; SINGLETON, Rashaad 4-7 0-3 8; WILLIAMS, Braxton 2-10 0-0 6; THOMPSON,
John 2-4 2-2 6; SMITH, Zach 2-3 1-2 5; JENKINS, Terry 2-4 0-0 5; FREDRICK,
Preston 0-4 4-4 4; MORRICK, Carlton 0-0 0-0 0; BRADLEY, Alvin 0-0 0-0 0;
MILLER, John 0-1 0-0 0; FERNANDEZ, Eric 0-1 0-0 0; HUBBLE, Jay 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 27-64 10-15 72.
Barry......................... 22 37 - 59
Florida Southern.............. 32 40 - 72
3-point goals--Barry 4-17 (TRAPP, Zach 2-4; TUCKER, Karega 1-5; UZ, Chris
1-4; MADYUN, Jamaal 0-3; TERRY, Terrell 0-1), Florida Southern 8-23
(RAYFIELD, Rion 2-4; ELDRIDGE, Rob 2-3; WILLIAMS, Braxton 2-8; JENKINS,
Terry 1-2; JENKINS, Brandon 1-3; MILLER, John 0-1; FERNANDEZ, Eric 0-1;
FREDRICK, Preston 0-1). Fouled out--Barry-None, Florida Southern-None.
Rebounds--Barry 36 (TUCKER, Karega 9), Florida Southern 46 (SINGLETON,
Rashaad 8). Assists--Barry 11 (TUCKER, Karega 6), Florida Southern 18
(WILLIAMS, Braxton 6). Total fouls--Barry 13, Florida Southern 12. Technical
fouls--Barry-None, Florida Southern-None. A-816
FSC's Rashaad Singleton sets single-season record for blocks with 93.
Previous record was 92 by Innocent Kere in 1998-99.