MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry nearly snatched away a big win from the league's best. Instead the Buccaneers suffered their third straight loss, this time a double-overtime setback to Saint Leo, 84-79, Saturday.
The Buccaneers (6-6, 1-3 Sunshine State Conference) played the league leader man-up for 49 minutes, but it got away from them in the last crucial stages, and Saint Leo (11-2, 4-0) held on for a tough road win.
Barry, which trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, erased a 12-point second half deficit. Justin McCoy's three-pointer with 41 seconds left in regulation tied the game. Neither team could convert with the ensuing possessions in the final 40 seconds.
The Buccaneers, who are 3-3 in games at Health & Sports Center, took a two-point lead in the first overtime when Damien Dwaine scored on a putback. Chad Renfro converted a three-point play to give the Bucs a 69-67 lead with 2:44 to go. Marcus Ruh's layup tied the game for Saint Leo a minute later. Ruh hit a jumper with 52 seconds left to push the Lions in front by two, but McCoy hit a layup with 22 seconds left to tie the game again.
Renfro hit a jumper with 3:00 to play in the second OT to give Barry a one-point lead, but Jerrel Harris canned a triple to bump the Lions in front, 77-75. Harris hit two free throws before Renfro scored to cut it to two, but Saint Leo closed the game with a 5-2 run to put it away.
"The first half we were down 13, the second half we were down 12, and we came back. It shows how resilient our guys are," Barry assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. "We've been resilient all year long. We would've like to have pulled it out. If we play Barry basketball, we can play with anyone in the league."
Barry outscored Saint Leo, 34-24 in the paint. The Bucs bench outscored the Lions, 30-21. Barry outrebounded Saint Leo, 39-34. But Barry's 16 turnovers resulted in 19 Saint Leo points.
Ruh had 22 points and five rebounds, and Harris scored 21 points and had six assists for the Lions.
Magne Fivelstad had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the Buccaneers. McCoy had 15 points and four rebounds. Renfro and Bryan Van Cott each scored 11. Filip Toric had eight points, eight boards and three assists.
"Magne's had a lot of pressure on him, waiting to play for a year-and-a-half," Saunders said. "He's a great kid, and he had a great game today. He gave us a big lift."
Barry plays at Palm Beach Atlantic 7 p.m. Wednesday.
"We're only going to learn from this," Saunders said. "The league is extremely tough. Wednesday is going to be a war. Playing in a lot of close games like this. Hopefully some of them will go our way."