TAMPA, Fla. – Barry University's No. 9-ranked men's basketball team's late comeback bid fell short in a 73-68 loss at Tampa to conclude the regular season. The Buccaneers, who trailed by as many as 19 in the second half, cut the deficit to four but couldn't get over the hump.

The Bucs (22-4, 13-3 Sunshine State Conference) finished second in the conference – the school's best finish since the 2006-07 season when Barry and Rollins both went 13-3 in the league. Barry was 23-7 that season.

Juan Ferrales, Deric Hill and Arie Williams all scored in double figures for the Bucs, who will open Sunshine State Conference Tournament play as the No. 2 seed 5 p.m. Friday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. Barry plays Saint Leo (14-14, 6-10) in the quarterfinals.

Ferrales, who moved into sole possession of fourth place all-time among three-point field goal leaders, hitting three Saturday, had 13 points. He has 148 triples in his two-year career. Hill had 12 points, five assists and three steals. Hill broke his own school record for steals in a season, and now has 73. Williams, who nearly played for Tampa, scored 11. It was the second time in as many trips to the Martinez Center Williams finished with 11 points.

It was Barry's third loss in the last four trips to the Martinez Center. 

After one of its handful of scoring droughts, Barry connected on back-to-back threes by Hill and Yunio Barrueta to trim a double-digit deficit down to seven with 4:01 to play. Barrueta was fouled on his triple, and sank the free throw to complete the four-point play. After the final media timeout, Williams canned a triple to bring the Buccaneers within four, 63-59.

Tampa's Austin Rettig answered with a layup before Barrueta and Tampa's Kyle Middleton swapped lay-ins within six seconds of each other. After the Spartans extended their lead to nine on Eugene McCrory's free throw with 1:46 left, Ferrales buried his third triple of the game to cut it to six.

McCrory missed a free throw with 54 seconds left, and Ferrales grabbed the rebound, leading to two free throws by Williams a second later. Tampa's Matt Johnson split a pair from the free throw line with 24 seconds to go, but Rettig grabbed the rebound. Jordan Davis sank two free throws to push the Spartans back on top seven. Barrueta scored on a layup with two seconds remaining, but it was too little too late.

Barry relied on the three-ball all day, going 13 of 37 for 35 percent. The Bucs also shot 35 percent from the field, hitting 24 of 69 field goals. Tampa was 28 of 55 for 51 percent, but struggled beyond the arc behind a four of 15 performance for 27 percent.

The Spartans (18-9, 10-6) outscored the Buccaneers, 40-18, in the paint.

Tampa led 45-26 2:53 into the second half, but Anders Haas ended a Buccaneers 0-for-4 shooting drought when he buried a triple with 13:47 to play to bring Barry within 12, 45-33. Adrian Gonzalez's steal before a media timeout put the Bucs in position to cut it to 10, but back-to-back turnovers kept the scoreboard stuck until Williams hit a triple to cut the deficit to nine with 6:55 remaining.

The Buccaneers were outrebounded, 41-37. It marked the fourth straight game Barry has been beaten on the boards.

Barry was outscored 22-10 in the paint in the first half after shooting 29 percent from the field. The Buccaneers were four of 18 from 3-point range in the opening half. The Bucs were held to one basket in the final 3:39 – a three-pointer by Ferrales that cut Tampa's lead to five, 31-26. The Spartans, who connected on 18 of 33 first half field goals, used a 7-0 run after Ferrales' last triple of the first half to take a 12-point lead into the break.  

Davis had 17 points on five of 11 shooting, and added 10 assists and seven rebounds. McCrory finished with 18 points, going eight of 17 from the field.

Gonzalez and Barrueta, both from the same Hialeah Gardens High School mold, scored nine points apiece. Barrueta had 11 rebounds and four assists, and Gonzalez three steals.

Friday's trip to the SSC Tournament marks the Bucs seventh straight to the postseason tourney – the last three years held in Kissimmee.