MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- The Buccaneers don't have to think long to remember the frustration they had the last time they met Saint Leo. What they may not know is the history between these two teams hasn't been kind even beyond last year.
Try the last four seasons.
Barry University men's basketball team has dropped the last seven games to the Lions, who owns the series record, 34-28. The Bucs' last win over Saint Leo was a 74-59 victory on Jan. 26, 2011 in BarryU's Health & Sports Center.
That's the site of Saturday's 4 p.m. Sunshine State Conference opener between the No. 12/14 Buccaneers (5-0) and the Lions (4-3) in a game that will air on the Buccaneers Broadcast Network with Danny Rabinowitz handling the call.
Saturday's game has been dubbed a #Blackout. All fans are encouraged to wear Barry black.
"Saint Leo is a tough, hardnosed group," Bucs assistant coach Justin Furr said. "They are coming off back-to-back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, and have a veteran team returning."
The Lions won a school record 24 games last season, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They were the only SSC team to advance out of the first round of the South Regional. Over the last three seasons, the Lions have gone 64-29 under head coach Lance Randall, who began his fourth season in Saint Leo this year.
This year the Lions, who are coming off a 59-51 loss at Flagler Monday, are averaging 70.9 points per game, while shooting 42 percent from the field. They are shooting 80 percent from the free throw line, which ranks eighth in the country and leads the conference.
"They are a well-coached team that really rebounds the ball, and makes it tough on your team to score," Furr said. "They take great shots on the offensive end, and move very well without the ball."
Lions senior forward Ron Foxx is averaging 15.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Marcus Dewberry is averaging 14.4 points and 4.4 assists per game. Junior center Lucas Johnson is good for 9.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and senior guard Devin Crisosto averages 8.7 points and four assists per game. All of them are shooting 75 percent or better from the free throw line.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have outscored opponents by just under 25 points per game, which ranks sixth in the country. Their 20.8 assists per game is tops in the SSC and sixth in the nation. Barry has outrebounded all five of its previous opponents by nearly 14 boards per game, which ranks ninth in the country and first in the league.
Barry junior forward Yunio Barrueta, who earned the Most Valuable Player award in the Cesar Odio Thanksgiving Classic, is averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He's shooting 59 percent from the field. Senior guard Juan Ferrales, also named to the All-Odio Classic Team, is second in scoring at 12.6 points while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor. Sophomore forward Adrian Gonzalez is scoring 10.4 points off the bench, and junior guard Anders Haas is scoring 10.2 points per game.
"It's going to be imperative for us to continue to rebound and share the basketball," Furr said. "We also need to be sound defensively, but keep Saint Leo off the free throw line because if they get there, they've proven they can knock 'em down."