BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Barry University men’s basketball team came up short against No. 20 Valdosta State, 61-45, Sunday night in the DoubleTree Guest Suites Holiday Classic at the de Hoernle Center.
The Bucs (5-5) started out well, building a seven-point lead at the 11:58 mark on a jumper by Erick Nsangou.
Zach Trapp helped keep Barry with a solid lead, as Valdosta State (11-2) chipped the lead down to three two minutes later, but Trapp’s trey helped build the lead back to six.
The game would remain back-and-forth, with Barry able to regain the lead at 23-22 on a Willie Whitfield jumper with five minutes left in the half.
Whitfield would add another layup on the next trip down the floor to boost the lead to three, before the Blazers began to take control.
A Ryan Nelson three-pointer tied the game just a minute later, then Valdosta State would close the half on a 12-3 run for a nine-point advantage at the break.
Barry refused to go away, as the Bucs would close the lead down to four on a three by Karega Tucker at the 12:39 mark.
The score would remain in single digits until a jumper by Tyrone Curnell at the 6:33 mark moved the lead to 11 for the Blazers.
Three players once again scored in double-digits for the Bucs, with Tucker leading the way with 14. Whitfield added 10 points and nine boards, while Nsangou tallied 10 points.
Barry will now enjoy a long break, as the Bucs will return to action on Wednesday, December 31 as they will open up Sunshine State Conference play against St. Leo beginning at noon at the Health and Sports Center.
Newspaper Box Score
Valdosta State vs Barry
12/21/08 3:30 p.m. at Boca Raton, Fla. (de Hoernle Center)
At Boca Raton, Fla. (de Hoernle Center)
VALDOSTA STATE 61, BARRY 45
VALDOSTA STATE (11-2)
Curnell, Tyrone 5-12 4-5 14; Lewis, Ricardo 5-11 2-2 13; Hunter, Christian
5-11 0-0 13; Nelson, Ryan 3-7 0-0 8; Young, Artis 3-4 0-0 7; Passmore,
Anthony 2-4 0-0 4; Dibble, Marvin 1-5 0-0 2; Cummings, Ray 0-1 0-0 0;
Robinson, Marquis 0-1 0-0 0; Johnson, De'Andre 0-0 0-0 0; Belton, Charles
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 6-7 61.
BARRY (5-5)
TUCKER, Karega 5-13 0-0 14; WHITFIELD, Willie 3-11 4-9 10; NSANGOU, Erick
5-12 0-2 10; TRAPP, Zach 1-4 0-0 3; BISHOP, Chad 1-4 0-2 2; ASTIGARRAGA,
Bryan 1-3 0-0 2; CHIVERTON, Bryan 1-3 0-0 2; VISINKIS, Bartas 1-2 0-0 2;
MORRIS, Jeran 0-1 0-0 0; UZ, Chris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 4-13 45.
Valdosta State................ 37 24 - 61
Barry......................... 28 17 - 45
3-point goals--Valdosta State 7-21 (Hunter, Christian 3-7; Nelson, Ryan 2-4;
Young, Artis 1-2; Lewis, Ricardo 1-6; Dibble, Marvin 0-2), Barry 5-15
(TUCKER, Karega 4-7; TRAPP, Zach 1-4; BISHOP, Chad 0-3; ASTIGARRAGA, Bryan
0-1). Fouled out--Valdosta State-None, Barry-None. Rebounds--Valdosta State
40 (Curnell, Tyrone 13), Barry 34 (WHITFIELD, Willie 9). Assists--Valdosta
State 11 (Lewis, Ricardo 4), Barry 4 (ASTIGARRAGA, Bryan 2). Total
fouls--Valdosta State 14, Barry 12. Technical fouls--Valdosta State-None,
Barry-None. A-69
DoubleTree Guest Suites Holiday Classic - Game 3