MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University men's basketball team opens the season 7 p.m. Friday at home against Florida Memorial.
The Lions (2-0) fell to Barry, 91-68, last season in Miami Shores. Florida Memorial opened the season with a pair of wins over the College of the Bahamas.
Barry will honor the 2015 Sunshine State Conference women's soccer team, which is hosting the NCAA South Regional this weekend, at halftime.
The No. 12/24 Buccaneers are coming off a school-best 25-6 record in 2014-15, which ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Seven players return to the Bucs lineup from that team under third-year coach
Butch Estes.
Senior forward
Yunio Barrueta is a preseason Second Team All-American. He averaged 18.7 points and a school-record 9.7 rebounds per game last year in earning honorable mention All-American honors. Senior guard
Anders Haas scored 9.7 points, and shot 34.7 percent from the 3-point line and a school-record 88.3 percent from the line. Junior forward
Adrian Gonzalez came off the bench to score 8.0 points and shoot 60.6 percent from the field. His 60.6 percent ranked third in school history. Senior power forward
Tray Leonard averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor.Â
Barry added three Division I transfers in guards
Elvar Fridriksson, center
Theo Turner and swingman
Undra Mitchem to its lineup. The Bucs also signed freshman guard
David Sachs and forward
Marko Tomic to a deep 17-player roster.
Estes begins the year 12 wins shy of 500 in his 33-year coaching career. Assistant coach
Justin Furr was elevated to the lead role this year, his third with the Buccaneers.
Mike Bradley is back for his sixth year.
The Bucs set 11 school game and season records a year ago.Â
Barry will open the season with four of its first five games at home. The Bucs will play at defending national champ Florida Southern in Lakeland Wednesday to open the Sunshine State Conference schedule. Two days before returning home for its SSC opener in Miami Shores the Bucs play at Shaw in Raleigh, N.C. on Nov. 30. Barry also meets Southern Nazarene Dec. 19 in a neutral site game at Lynn.
The Buccaneers are trying to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. Barry is also in seach of its first outright conference title in school history.
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