BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Barry University's No. 8-ranked men's basketball team won the Boca Raton Classic at Lynn University after beating Winston-Salem State, 98-90, Saturday.
Barry (8-1) was the only team at the four-team event to win both weekend games. Now the Buccaneers will take a two-week hiatus before returning to Sunshine State Conference play for a 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 tilt at No. 1 Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla.
"I've never, ever been in a conference as even as this conference is," said Bucs coach Butch Estes, who's in the 32nd year of his craft. "We're going to have to put our big boy pants on."
After an ominous start in this one, Barry put its working clothes on, recovering from a potentially disastrous first half to take a 54-43 halftime lead. The Buccaneers bounced back from a 1-for-11 start 4:20 into the game by shooting 15 of 25 the rest of the half for a respectable 44 percent at the break.
Anders Haas' three-pointer with 5:55 to play in the opening half gave Barry a 32-31 lead after falling behind by as many as 10 less than seven minutes into the game. Deric Hill's 3-pointer with 2:29 left on the clock pushed the Bucs lead to seven, and Savad Garner scored on a layup to make it 49-40. Yunio Barrueta, who scored 22 points in the first half on 8 of 14 shooting, hit a layup before Marquez Jones canned one of the Rams' nine first-half triples.
Winston-Salem State finished with a season-high 15 3-point goals, shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc.
Barry never trailed in the second half, but the Rams cut the Buccaneers' double-digit lead down to six on WyKevin Bazemore's basket with 2:03 to go. But Jevoni Robinson hit a floating jumper in the paint, and Deric Hill and Haas combined to sink three free throws down the stretch, allowing the Bucs to hold on.
"I might have to get a little bit more involved in some of the things we're doing down the stretch," said Estes, who is 4-0 in Lynn's pre-Christmas tournament in his first two years at the de Hoernle Center. "There was some chinks in the armor. We got to make sure we clean that up."
Barrueta had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Haas scored 21 points, sinking 10 of 10 from the free throw line as the Buccaneers won its seventh straight Lynn Classic game, dating back to 2011. Hill had 13 points, 11 assists and three steals.
Barry will play at No. 1 Florida Southern 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 in Lakeland. The Bucs' first home game after the holiday break is Jan. 10 against Palm Beach Atlantic.
"We're moving in the right direction," Estes said, "but we've got a lot of work to do."