MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University men's basketball did a number on Ave Maria on the offensive glass and held off a pesky Gyrenes squad to win, 80-67, Friday at Health & Sports Center.
Barry (6-0) outrebounded Ave Maria, 53-30, and outscored the Gyrenes, 50-26, in the paint in a game where two Bucs had double-doubles. Savad Garner had 20 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and a steal, and Magne Fivelstad had 20 points and 11 boards as Barry held off a late rally by Ave Maria (5-5).
The Buccaneers, which outscored the Gyrenes, 24-11, in second chance points raced out to a 20-point halftime lead. Barry held a 26-point lead with 15:41 to play after Garner scored on one of Deric Hill's eight assists. But Ave Maria, which shot 41.3 percent from the field, turned a 20-point game with 3:24 to play into a respectable going away loss when the Gyrenes used a 7-0 run the rest of the way to tighten things up.
Matt Chattin scored 24 points for the Gyrenes, who were outrebounded 25-11 on the offensive glass. He had 12 in each half, and went 8 of 15 from the field.
"I thought all of our inside players did a great job," Barry first-year coach Butch Estes said. "Savad, not only that initial entry, but that second and third effort, he's maybe the best I've ever coached at that."
Garner had a career-best seven offensive rebounds and a season-high 12 in his finest game in his young Barry career. He's playing for his third school in as many years.
"That's something that Magne, Yunio and I always talk about," Garner said of the offensive glass work. "As a group, we've got to continue to do that."
The Bucs were 4 of 19 from 3-point range, and shot 45.5 percent after cooling off from a 51.1 percent effort in the opening half. Barry was 12 of 32 from the field in the second half.
"They're a feisty team," Estes said of the Gyrenes.
Hill recorded eight or more assists for the fourth straight game. He also had four steals. He is second in the Sunshine State Conference in assists and first in steals.
"Deric's an amazing point guard," Garner said. "Not a lot of people can keep up with him."
Yunio Barrueta had eight points, 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and three blocks. Adrian Gonzalez and Arie Williams each had 10 points. It was a season-high for Williams, who was 4 of 7 from the floor.
The Buccaneers will host Claflin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the final of six straight home games before hitting the road for the Lynn Holiday Classic next Friday and Saturday in Boca Raton.
"It feels good (being 6-0), but we're not going to let that go to our head," said Garner, who was 9 of 12 from the floor.
Barry attempted a season-low six free throws, making all of them, including a 4-for-4 night from Fivelstad, one of the better shooters from the stripe. Barry had an 18-6 edge in transition points.
"We need 10 players," Estes said. "There are other guys that are capable of helping us. We talk about playing time; it's not given, it's earned. So when you get on that court, you've got to get the job done."
Claflin is coming off a five-point loss to Division I UNC-Greensboro on the road this week.
"Not only does the schedule get harder, it gets more rapid now," Estes said. "Hopefully we survived exams and we'll be able to spend a lot of quality time in practice."