KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Barry University men's basketball team opens the Sunshine State Conference Championships with a quarterfinal matchup 5 p.m. Friday against Florida Southern at Silver Spurs Arena.
The seventh-seeded Buccaneers (13-13) had won four of its past five, which included an overtime thriller over Rollins in neighboring Winter Park last week, before falling in the final regular season game. Florida Southern (21-5) shared the regular season conference title with Saint Leo, but received the No. 2 seed in the league tournament.
The Bucs lost to the Mocs, ranked 10th in NCAA Division II, twice this year. In 2009-10, Barry also fell to Florida Southern twice in the regular season before beating the Mocs in the SSC Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament a week later.
Barry has held its last four opponents to an average of 60.2 points per game. The Buccaneers limited six of their last seven opponents to 68 points or less. The Bucs are 5-3 when scoring 70 or more points and 6-4 when they score in the 60s.
Florida Southern's Seth Evans is averaging 15.7 points per game. Dominic Lane is averaging 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. Kevin Capers is scoring 11.8 points per game, and Brett Bailey is averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Senior guard Justin McCoy leads the Buccaneers in scoring at 14.2 points per game, having reached double figures in 23 of the 26 games. McCoy has started all 26 games, and is second on the team in assists with 70. Sophomore forward Magne Fivelstad is averaging 10.6 points and six rebounds while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor in 19 games.
Senior guard Chad Renfro is averaging 10 points and 4.2 rebounds. Senior point forward Filip Toric is averaging 9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from the field, and leads the team with 78 assists. Senior forward Aaron Martin is scoring 9.4 points per game, and leads the Bucs in three-point field goals with 44. His .352 percentage from beyond the arc is tops among the regulars.
Barry is 4-2 in overtime games, and has 12 wins in games decided by 10 points or less.
McCoy and Toric were named to the Breitbart Sports Top 2,000 Non-Division I players national report, both ranking in the top 800.
SSC CHAMPIONSHIPS NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Barry lost the regular season finale to Nova Southeastern
... Three Bucs scored in double figures ... Justin McCoy had 12 points,
7 reb, 2 steals ... Filip Toric 11 points, 7 reb, 4 assists, 1 steal ... Magne
Fivelstad 10 points, 7 reb, 3 steals.
SERIES RECORD: Barry is 14-44 all-time against Florida Southern ... Th e
Bucs last win over the Mocs was a 77-55 win in Miami Shores on Jan. 8,
2011 ... Barry beat FSC in the SSC Tournament semis, 79-61, on Mar. 6,
2010 ... That same year the Bucs beat the Mocs in the NCAA Tournament
first round, 64-59, in Russellville, Ark.
EYES ON OPPONENT: Th e Mocs shared the SSC regular season title with
Saint Leo after going 12-5 in league play ... Seth Evans leads FSC in scoring
(15.7) ... Dominic Lane is averaging 14.6 ppg and 6.2 reb ... Kevin Capers is
scoring 11.8 ppg ... Brett Bailey is averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.1 reb.
4-FOR-5: Barry has had five players score in double figures in four games
this year ... In eight games, the Bucs have had four players reach twin #s.
WORKING OVER: Barry is 4-2 in overtime games this year.
TORIC TALK: Sr. F Filip Toric has scored in double figures in 14 games,
including a stretch of seven in a row, during which he had three straight
double-doubles ... One of his double-doubles was against Florida Southern
and another against Saint Leo, the top two teams in the SSC who are
ranked nationally ... Ranked 777 on top non-DI players in country.
McCOY’S MOJO: Sr. G Justin McCoy has scored in double figures in
23games, which leads the team ... He leads the Bucs in scoring (14.2) ... He
joined Toric as one of the top 2,000 non-DI players in the Breitbart Sports
national report ... McCoy ranked 451 in the national report.
SENIOR RANKINGS:
CAREER
Vlad Raymonvil - 3rd FT% (.808), 9th 3-pt% (.361)
Bryan Van Cott - 5th FT% (.793), 3-pt FG (77) - tied 16t
Justin McCoy - scoring (11.9) - 17th; assists ave (2.9) - 9th
Chad Renfro -- 3-pt FG (83) -- tied 13th; 3-pt FG% (.339) - 18th
SEASON
Filip Toric - Def. Reb. Ave (5.5) - 8th; Def. Reb. (138) - 13th
TOURNEY TIDBITS
- Barry's last win in the SSC Tournament was a 79-61 victory over Florida Southern on Mar. 6, 2010
- In their last six trips to the postseason league tournament, the Buccaneers 90 a different opponent each time in their opening-round game
- During those six seasons dating back to 2005-06, each time the Bucs have won their opening-round league tournament game, they’ve finished with a .500 record or better
- Senior G Vladimir Raymonvil was a member of Barry’s 2010 team that beat Florida Southern in the SSC Tournament
- Sophomore F Damien Dwaine is tied with senior F Filip Toric for the team lead in blocked shots, each with 18
- Dwaine is one of three regulars shooting over 45 percent from the floor
- Barry’s preseason roster has been sliced from 14 to 10 players due to injuries and redshirts
- On the trip to Tampa late in the season, only nine players traveled
- Each of Barry’s four coaches played college basketball
- Head coach Cesar Odio played at Florida Southern, winning a national championship in 1981
- Acting head coach Orlando Gonzalez played at the University of Miami
- Assistant coach Ryan Saunders played four years at Barry, setting five career school records
- Assistant coach Mike Bradley played football and basketball at Bethune-Cookman
- Seniors Aaron Martin and Filip Toric have played college basketball at three schools in four years
- Barry has three international players on its roster: Toric (Zagreb, Croatia), Magne Fivelstad (Bergen, Norway) and Bouna N’Diaye (Bergen, Norway)
- Sophomore G Jason Llaneras, a chemistry major, also tutors students on campus
- He has been preparing for the MCAT exam to prepare for a career in the medical sciences field.
- Junior F Garrett Naughton is the tallest active player on the Bucs roster at 6-7
- Naughton and Renfro share Jacksonville connections
- Renfro is a native of Jacksonville
- Naughton played junior college ball at Florida State College-Jacksonville, where he was a second-team all-conference selection
- Senior G Justin McCoy and senior F Aaron Martin both played at St. Petersburg College
- Bryan Van Cott and Vlad Raymonvil are the only players on the Bucs roster who’ve played more than two seasons at Barry
- Van Cott (.793) and Raymonvil (.808) rank among the school's top five free throw shooters all-time
- Magne Fivelstad hasn’t even played a full season, but the NCAA is trying to rule him a junior
- Bouna N’Diaye’s brother, Calix, set the school record for free throws made in a game without a miss, going 14-for-14 against Florida Southern in 2005