MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – How was that for openers?
Barry University men’s basketball team left no doubt in its season-opening win over cross-city rival Johnson & Wales Friday night, beating the Wildcats, 90-62, in front of 1,267 in the Health & Sports Center. It marked the Buccaneers fifth straight win over the previously unbeaten Wildcats in the series history – this one the by the widest of margins.
The win marked the Bucs third straight season opener – this one the most impressive. The 1,267 fans nearly matched last year’s home opener of 1,273 inside the 1,500-seat HSC confines.
Barry shot 50 percent in the opening half, building a 45-28 lead, and never looked back. The Buccaneers held the Wildcats (4-1) to nine field goals in each half, while knocking down 34 shots of their own.
Junior forward Yunio Barrueta had 29 points and 10 rebounds, going 11 of 15 from the field. He was five of eight from 3-point range in 33 minutes. Albany junior transfer Anders Haas scored 17 points on six of 10 shooting, while finishing with four rebounds and a steal in his Buccaneers debut.
“Anders did a really good moving the ball and picking his shots,” assistant coach Mike Bradley said. “He didn’t force anything, and he let his offensive game come to him. That’s one of the things we come to expect from Anders.”
In a game requiring only one lead change – Barry had to overcome an 11-7 just 3:30 after the tipoff – the Bucs took control for good on Barrueta’s dunk at the 15:51 mark. His jam followed a Deric Hill 3-pointer, and was part of a 12-0 run over a 2:38 span. Haas’ second straight triple with 3:54 left in the opening half gave the Bucs a 20-point lead.
Barry outscored Johnson & Wales, 36-12, in the paint. The Bucs outproduced the Wildcats, 25-9, in turnover scoring. Barry had a 31-12 edge in second chance points, and outscored JWU, 14-2, in transition.
Barrueta's five triples were a career-high.
“It can always be better,” Barrueta said, half-kidding.
Senior guard Juan Ferrales had 12 points, four rebounds and a block. Hill finished with eight points, seven assists, three steals and four rebounds. Senior forward Savad Garner, whose fast start kept the Buccaneers’ offense alive early, had eight points, seven boards and a steal. Both Ferrales and Garner were four of nine from the field.
Sophomore guard Arie Williams canned two of his four triple tries, and finished with a steal in 14 minutes. Barry’s 6-foot-8 power forward/centers Tray Leonard and Jevoni Robinson each had seven rebounds. Robinson also had a monster block in the waning seconds of the opening half.
All 14 Bucs saw time on the floor in a game where 66.7 percent free throw shooting never had an impact. JWU’s Ricardo Suarez and Luke Walters each scored 10 points.
“I’m trying to develop that bench, I’m trying to play a lot of guys,” Bucs second-year coach Butch Estes said. “There was a mistake on my part because we didn’t play so well when I went to the bench, but we got a lot of people into the game, and it is what it is.”
Barry, which will host Puerto Rico-Mayaguez next Friday at 7:30 p.m., outrebounded JWU, 51-32. Including the exhibition losses to No. 8 Louisville and No. 7 Florida, that makes three straight games in which Barry has won the battle on the boards.
“We just have a lot of guys that have that ability to get the ball," Estes said. "My biggest concern tonight was turnovers. There was some where we were trying to make the brilliant play."
Lack of brilliance or not, it was a 38-point win the Bucs will hold onto for keeps.