Men's Basketball | 1/10/2004 7:52:00 PM

Box Score LAKELAND – The Barry University men's basketball team fell to the Florida Southern Moccasins in overtime 62-57 earlier tonight at the Jenkins Field House.

The Bucs fell behind early on in the first half as Florida Southern jumped out to a 10-5 lead at the 14:06 mark. The Mocs then extended their lead to 21-12 with 10:03 to play before the half, however, the Bucs rallied going on 8-0 run topped off by a three-point basket by Clifford Smith to bring themselves to within one at 21-20 with just minutes remaining before the break. The Mocs then closed out the half going on a 7-2 run of their own and took a 28-22 lead heading into the locker rooms.

In the second the half, the Bucs came out hot going on a 8-3 run to bring themselves to within one for the second time of the night and eventually took their first lead at 36-35 on a two point basket by Casey Johnson at the 12:15 mark. The Bucs led by as much at 2 with 3:38 to play, however, the lead did not last as the Mocs went on a 8-4 run to take a 51-47 lead with just seconds on the clock. However, the resilient Bucs again got to within one at 51-50 after Nick Ellingsworth-Perez knocked down a free-throw to complete a three-point play. After a Barry foul, Florida Southern extended their lead to 52-50 on a made free-throw, but an amazing two-point basket laid in by freshman point guard Ryan Saunders with just 1.8 second on the clock knotted the game at 52-52 sending it into overtime.

The Bucs had the momentum going into the overtime period, however, Florida Southern quickly stole it away as they outscored Barry 10-5 to earn the 62-57 victory. The Mocs shot 6-6 from the line in overtime to seal the win.

Barry was led by Clifford Smith who had 13 points before fouling out in overtime and Florida Southern's Chris Brooks led all scorers with 24 points.

The Bucs return to action on Jan. 14 when they visit Florida Gulf Coast in a non-conference match-up beginning at 7:30.

Newspaper Box Score
Barry vs Florida Southern
01/10/04 5:30 pm at Lakeland, FL (Jenkins Field House)
At Lakeland, FL (Jenkins Field House)
FLORIDA SOUTHERN 62, BARRY 57
BARRY (7-7, 0-3 SSC)
SMITH, Clifford 5-15 2-2 13; PEREZ, Nick 5-19 1-1 11; SAUNDERS, Ryan 3-5 2-2
9; ALFONSO, Andres 3-4 0-0 8; EVANS, Andy 3-5 0-0 7; JOHNSON, Casey 3-7 0-0
7; JAUKOVIC, Luka 1-3 0-0 2; LEWIS, Rodney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 5-5 57.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN (10-4, 4-0 SSC)
BROOKS, Chris 7-21 8-8 24; DUNBAR, Hurley 3-6 3-4 9; WILLIAMS, Blake 2-7 3-3
8; EBANYAT, Kenneth 2-5 2-4 6; RICHARDSON, Reggie 2-3 1-1 5; BOYKIN, Ellery
2-6 0-0 5; TOMAN, Tommy 1-1 0-0 3; THOMAS, Terence 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-51
17-20 62.
Barry......................... 22 30 5 - 57
Florida Southern.............. 28 24 10 - 62
3-point goals-Barry 6-22 (ALFONSO, Andres 2-3; JOHNSON, Casey 1-4; EVANS,
Andy 1-1; SMITH, Clifford 1-8; SAUNDERS, Ryan 1-2; JAUKOVIC, Luka 0-1;
PEREZ, Nick 0-3), Florida Southern 5-13 (BROOKS, Chris 2-5; TOMAN, Tommy
1-1; BOYKIN, Ellery 1-3; WILLIAMS, Blake 1-4). Fouled out--Barry-SMITH,
Clifford, Florida Southern-None. Rebounds-Barry 34 (PEREZ, Nick 12), Florida
Southern 35 (EBANYAT, Kenneth 11). Assists-Barry 14 (SAUNDERS, Ryan 7),
Florida Southern 10 (BOYKIN, Ellery 5). Total fouls-Barry 17, Florida
Southern 12. A-479