MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – It’s going to be a Black Out at Barry Wednesday night.
Barry University women’s and men’s basketball teams host Palm Beach Atlantic beginning at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Health & Sports Center on Homecoming Night. Fans are encouraged to wear black in the game being billed as a Black Out. Fans are encouraged to wear all black to both games.
“It’ll be nice to play in front of an exciting crowd,” Barry men’s assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. “Our guys like playing in front of their peers.”
During halftime of the women’s game, Barry will honor its student-athletes from the fall semester who achieved a grade point average of 4.0. During halftime of the men’s game, the king and queen will be announced from the homecoming court. A pre-game barbecue in the Landon Courtyard will kick off the homecoming game festivities at 3:30 p.m.
The Miami Heat dancers will also be on hand to perform.
The Buccaneers women’s team enters the game with a 12-10 record. Palm Beach Atlantic is 5-17. Barry beat PBA in one of its better defensive efforts earlier this season in West Palm Beach, 59-38. Amanda Frontino scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Tyler Hardy had 15 points and six boards in that game for the Bucs. PBA’s Ashley Dolberry had 12 points, and Taylor Peterson 11.
“A key factor the last time we played them was holding Dolberry to 12 points,” Bucs women’s assistant coach Emer Foley said. “Defending and keeping her from her average is going to be key to defeating the Sailfish.”
Dolberry is averaging 14.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Lynsey Poole is scoring 13 ppg. Barry’s Colette Eule is the Bucs’ leading scorer at 13.1 ppg. She ranks second all-time in school history in free throw percentage (.799). Hardy is averaging 11 points and 6.3 rebounds.
“We only have a handful of games left, and our goal as a team is a winning season,” Foley said. “So we’ve got to dig these last couple of games.”
Barry’s men’s team comes into the game with a 10-12 mark. Palm Beach Atlantic is 1-22. The Buccaneers survived an overtime scare from the Sailfish in the first meeting this year, winning 73-68.
“We can’t overlook them, based on their record,” Saunders said. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, and the way they are playing we have to be careful. I think we have to put them away early – build a lead and then put them away. It can’t be as close as when we played them up there. But the way they play with their confidence, anything can happen.”
The Bucs have shifted their focus from settling for outside shots to working the ball inside. Over the last four games, Barry is averaging 25.5 points in the paint. For a team that is scoring 69.9 points per game, that accounts for 36.4 percent of the Bucs’ offense, which doesn’t take into account points from the free throw line or field goals outside the lane.
Sophomore power forward Magne Fivelstad is averaging 18.7 points over his last three games. Senior small forward Filip Toric is averaging 12 points over his past four games. Sophomore forward Damien Dwaine is scoring 6.3 points over his last four games.
“We’re going to have to establish an inside presence,” Saunders said. “Magne has given us an inside presence. He’s a guy who can post up, a guy who can get to the free throw line. Really, a lot of our problems early in the year was our lack of an inside presence. The thing for Magne is he’s so unselfish. We almost had to force him to take shots. He’ll do whatever the team needs.
“Teams are doing that to us. They’re wearing us down. We’ve got to do that them.”
Senior guard Vlad Raymonvil was inserted into the starting lineup the last couple games. He’s coming off a season-high 13 points in Saturday’s loss to Eckerd.
“Vlad gives us another ball handler,” Saunders said. “He gives us some more security. On defense, Vladimir’s been here for four years. He knows what we expect. He’s a Barry guy.”
With four games remaining, the Buccaneers don’t have any margin for error the rest of the way. Especially if they want to finish with a winning record and gain a better seed in the league tournament.
“For us, it’s a must-win game,” Saunders said. “It’s a game that will help us gain momentum for the last three games of the conference season.”
MEN'S GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Barry lost 71-66 to Eckerd at home Saturday night ...
Magne Fivelstad had 18 points, and Vlad Raymonvil had 13.
SERIES RECORD: Barry is 20-4 all-time vs. Palm Beach Atlantic ... The
Bucs won the first meeting in OT in West Palm Beach earlier this year ...
Last year, the two teams split during the regular season.
EYES ON OPPONENT: The Sailfish have lost 20 in a row ... During that
span, PBA has taken three teams to overtime -- the closest loss a five-point
setback to Barry ... Marcus Hardy is averaging 15.8 ppg and 6.9 reb ...
Christian Martinez is averaging 12.7 ppg and shooting 87.7 percent from
the free throw line ... Dante Valentine is averaging 12.1 ppg and 5.6 reb.
MAGNE-FIVED: Soph. F Magne Fivelstad has sunk 10 free throws in
each of his last two games ... He had hit 18 straight free throws over a
three-game stretch before missing a pair Saturday ... Fivelstad is shooting
.808 from the line, which leads the team ... He has scored in double figures
in three straight games.
TORIC TO 10: Barry Sr. F Filip Toric has scored in double figures in
seven straight games ... He leads the team with three double-doubles ...
Toric is third on the team in scoring at 10.0 ppg.
VLAD CHASING HISTORY: Barry Sr. G Vladimir Raymonvil 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 .824.
percent ... Raymonvil is 100-for-122 all-time at the stripe ... He has not
attempted a free throw in his last three games ... Raymonvil is coming off a
season-high 13 points Saturday.
VAN COTT IN THE BOOKS: Barry Sr. G Bryan Van Cott ranks fifth
all-time at Barry in free throw shooting at 79.1 percent ... He is 18th among
career leaders in three-pointers made (74), one behind teammate Chad
Renfro (75).
ASSIST-ANCE NEEDED: Barry is averaging 12.2 assists, but is turning the
ball over 15.3 times per game.
SSC TICKETS: Buy your tickets for the Sunshine State Conference tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., Mar. 6-10 at Silver Spurs Arena ... Contact associate athletics director Jamie Carrig at 305-899-4823 or jcarrig@mail.barry.edu to purchase tickets.