Barry University men's basketball team plays at Palm Beach Atlantic Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in West Palm Beach. The game will be broadcast on PBA's Sailfish Network and also available on LIVE STATS.
The men's game will follow the women's game, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. Access to both games can be found on the Sailfish Game Day Central page.
Barry's men's team is coming off its worst loss of the season -- a 20-point defeat at Saint Leo Saturday. The 58 points the Buccaneers scored Saturday is their lowest offensive output of the season, and 24.6 points under their average entering the game.
The Buccaneers won the first game between the two teams this year, a 78-69 victory in Miami Shores on Jan. 8. The Bucs own a 22-5 record against the Sailfish in the series.
PBA enters the game with an 8-14 record this year, having lost three of the past four games. Two of those losses came on the road, while the win during that stretch was a 97-77 triumph over Florida National.
Evin Graham is averaging 12.8 points per game and 6.6 rebounds for the Sailfish. Clayton Williams is scoring 10.7 points. Marcus Hardy is averaging 8.8 ppg and 4.0 rebounds, and Christian Martinez 8.6 ppg, while shooting 43 percent from the field. Garet Tucker is scoring 7.9 ppg.
In the first game against the Bucs, Graham had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Tucker had 12 points, while Williams and Alan Hardy each scored 10.
Barry's win over No. 6 Florida Southern last week vaulted the Bucs into the top 100 in the Bennett Ranking -- a new poll using its own sophisticated formula and algorhythm to determine a team's rank. Barry earned a Bennett Rank of 93 this week, and had not cracked the top 100 all year.
Wednesday's game at PBA marks the final non-conference game of the season. Barry will host the following three games at home, beginning with Saturday's 4 p.m. home tip-off against Eckerd. The Bucs also host Nova Southeastern on Wed., Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m. and conclude the home schedule with a Sat. Feb. 22 date against Rollins at 6 p.m. on Senior Day as part of Homecoming Week. The game against Rollins also will feature a Make-A-Wish Foundation special event between the women's and men's games. The women's game tips off at 4 p.m. on Feb. 22.
TIP-INS: In Barry's first game with Palm Beach Atlantic, Bucs sophomore guard/forward Yunio Barrueta served up a dunk off a crafty thread-the-needle feed from Juan Ferrales that made its way on to SportsCenter. Click here to see Barrueta's highlight dunk with Danny Rabinowitz on the call.
GAME NOTES
MAKE-A-WISH: Barry will host a special event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation between the women’s and men’s game vs. Rollins Sat. Feb. 22 ... Make-A-Wish is an NCAA Division II fundraising initiative ... Barry is raising funds to grant a few area kids wishes ... To donate to the cause, call 305-899-4823.
SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE TICKETS: To order tickets to the men's and women's Sunshine State Conference Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., March 5-9, call 305-899-4823.