MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Magne Fivelstad has been turning it up a notch. He hopes his Barry University men's basketball team follows suit.
Barry (9-11, 3-8 Sunshine State Conference) plays at Lynn (11-10, 3-8) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Boca Raton. Both teams are seeking better seeds in the postseason conference tournament. That means both teams are desperate for wins over the last three weeks of the season.
Barry's men's game follows the women's game, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the de Hornle Center.
"We're two teams that are in the same position who have underachieved," Fivelstad said. "We just got to go out and win games."
Fivelstad is shooting 67.8 percent over his last six games. He made his first two career three-pointers and scored a career-high 18 points at No. 29 Saint Leo Saturday. But all of that means nothing if the Buccaneers aren't winning. Currently, Barry is mired in a three-game losing skid, matching its longest lull of the season.
The Buccaneers lost the first game to Lynn this season in Miami Shores, 71-66. That didn't sit well with the Bucs.
"It makes us even more hungry for a a win," Fivelstad said. "Lynn is a team that plays with great energy, and we have to match that."
Fivelstad made his debut on Lynn's court in the Courtyard by Marriott Holiday Classic, where the Buccaneers won two games during the high point of the season. Since that time, Barry has gone 4-8 to fall two games below the .500 mark. Now he and the Bucs are going back to the court where they tasted victory twice this season.
A win over the Fighting Knights would set up nicely for a two-game stretch at home beginning 7:30 p.m. Saturday night when the Buccaneers host Eckerd.
Barry's alumni basketball game is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Health & Sports Center.
Watch the Lynn game by clicking HERE. Follow the game via LIVE STATS.
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Barry fell, 65-52, on the road to No. 29 Saint Leo ... Filip Toric had 12 pts, 12 reb ... Magne Fivelstad had career-best 18 pts.
SERIES RECORD: Barry is 17-23 all-time against Lynn ... The Fighting Knights won the first meeting between the two teams this year ... Barry’s last win at Lynn during the regular season was Feb. 25, 2009 (W 55-50).
EYES ON OPPONENT: The Fighting Knights are coming off a road win at Tampa Saturday to end a three-game losing skid ... Shamel Akins leads the Knights in scoring (10.6) ... Kaleb Clyburn is averaging 9.8 ppg ... Slobodan Miljanic is averaging 9.5 ppg and 5.0 reb ... Pavle Raickovic is averaging 9.6 ppg and 6.5 reb.
FIGHTING UPHILL CLIMB: Barry and Lynn are tied for ninth in the SSC ... Both are battling to get out of the conference basement ... The eighth and ninth place teams play the first round game at the SSC Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., March 6 at Silver Spurs Arena.
FREE THROW FORUM: Lynn leads the conference in free throw shooting at 75.1 percent ... Barry is fourth at 72.9.
McCOY’s STREAK SNAPPED AT 18: Barry Sr. G Justin McCoy had his double figures streak snapped at 18 straight games Saturday at Saint Leo.
TORIC TIME: Barry Sr. F Filip Toric has scored in double figures in five straight games ... He has recorded three straight double-doubles ... He ranks second in the SSC in rebounds (7.5) with a career-high of 14 boards at NAIA nationally-ranked St. Thomas earlier this season ... He leads the SSC in defensive rebounds (6.1).
RAYMONVIL MILESTONE MARK: Barry Sr. G Vladimir Raymonvil sank his 100th career free throw at Barry last week ... He ranks second all-time in school history in free throw percentage (.820) in his four years with the Bucs ... Brent Williams (1991-93) owns the top spot at 82.4 percent ... Raymonvil is 100-for-122 all-time at the stripe.
BERGEN BUCKET MAKER: Soph. F Magne Fivelstad (Bergen, Norway) is shooting 67.8 percent from the field over his last six games ... Fivelstad is 21 of 31 from the floor in that stretch ... He scored a career-best 18 points at Saint Leo Saturday, hitting his first two career three-pointers.