Men's Basketball | 1/25/2003 6:01:00 PM

Box Score MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- When a team has the number one defense in NCAA Division II, no one can expect anything less than a fight to the end. Only this time, the Barry University men's basketball team and their top-ranked defense fell short to the Rollins College Tars (16-3, 6-0 SSC) 75-67 in double-overtime at the Health & Sports Center earlier today.

Tied at 12 apiece with 8:52 remaining in the first half, Luis Vazquez-Bello hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to give the Buccaneers (12-6, 2-4 SSC) a two-point advantage. The Bucs went on a 10-4 run to close out the half and lead 24-16.

The Tars opened up the second half with an 18-5 run to take the lead 34-29 with 13:34 remaining in regulation. However, Barry's relentless defense kept the Bucs' hopes alive as the offense began chipping away at the Tar lead. Finally at the 4:40 mark, Ronald Lewis hit a three-pointer to give the Bucs a three-point advantage. With the Bucs leading 54-51 and only ticks left to play, Matt Williams hit three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 54 apiece and send the game into overtime.

After a brief intermission, the first overtime period was a display of defense with both teams scoring only three points each. At the of the first overtime, the score remained tied 57-57 sending the game into a second overtime.

Exactly the opposite of the first overtime, the second featured the scoring potency of both teams. However, the Tars hit 12 of 15 from the free-throw line outscoring the Bucs 18-10 leading to the 75-67 final in favor of the Tars.

Vazquez-Bello led the Buccaneer efforts with a game-high 18 points, while pulling down 6 boards. Lewis followed with a personal season-high 14 points and Nick Ellingsworth-Perez registered a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Placide Muhizi paced the Tars five double-figure scorers with 17 points and a team-high 8 boards. Williams and Donald Banks followed with 14 apiece, Eric Faber with 11, while Austin Kegerreis came in off the bench to add 10.

The Buccaneers return to the road Wednesday, Jan 29 to face off with Sunshine State Conference foe Florida Tech at 7:30 pm in Melbourne, Fla.

Newspaper Box Score

Rollins vs Barry
01/25/03 2:00 pm at Health&Sports Center (Miami Shores, FL)
At Health&Sports Center (Miami Shores, FL)
ROLLINS 75, BARRY 67
ROLLINS (16-3, 6-0 SSC)
MUHIZI, Placide 6-8 5-7 17; WILLIAMS, Matt 1-9 11-12 14; BANKS, Donald 5-13
0-0 14; FABER, Eric 4-13 0-0 11; KEGERREIS, Austin 2-9 4-7 10; DIRCKS, Chad
1-2 6-7 9; BROWN, Lex 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 26-33 75.
BARRY (12-6, 2-4 SSC)
VAZQUEZ-BELLO, Luis 7-12 4-4 18; LEWIS, Ronald 6-15 0-2 14; PEREZ, Nick 4-7
5-7 13; CALDERON, Yorell 1-5 6-6 9; ALFONSO, Andres 2-6 2-2 7; HINES, Ocie
1-2 1-2 3; MILLS, Bryan 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 22-50 18-23 67.
Rollins....................... 16 38 3 18 - 75
Barry......................... 24 30 3 10 - 67
3-point goals-Rollins 11-33 (BANKS, Donald 4-7; FABER, Eric 3-9; KEGERREIS,
Austin 2-7; WILLIAMS, Matt 1-7; DIRCKS, Chad 1-2; BROWN, Lex 0-1), Barry
5-21 (LEWIS, Ronald 2-8; ALFONSO, Andres 1-4; MILLS, Bryan 1-1; CALDERON,
Yorell 1-5; HINES, Ocie 0-1; VAZQUEZ-BELLO, Luis 0-2). Fouled
out--Rollins-DIRCKS, Chad, Barry-CALDERON, Yorell. Rebounds-Rollins 31
(MUHIZI, Placide 8), Barry 37 (PEREZ, Nick 11). Assists-Rollins 13 (FABER,
Eric 4), Barry 19 (PEREZ, Nick 5). Total fouls-Rollins 23, Barry 26. A-497