MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University's 19th-ranked men's basketball team will begin the second half of Sunshine State Conference play 4 p.m. Saturday at Rollins.

The game matches the top two teams in the league, with Barry (12-3, 8-2 SSC) holding a one-game lead over Rollins (11-7, 7-3) for the top spot in the standings. All of the action can be found on the Tars Network.

The Bucs beat the Tars in the first meeting this season, holding on as Rollins made a second half comeback. Rollins' Jeff Merton scored 27 points in that game, while Barry's Sawyer Glick had 34 on 10 three-pointers. But Glick is averaging three triples over his last four games, and Rollins is riding a three-game win streak so the storylines have tilted a tad.

"We did a good job of positioning ourselves in the first round of conference play," Bucs assistant coach Justin Furr said. "But the second round is kind of like the back nine at Augusta. That's when the tournament is won. We feel like if we can go into this second round, if we could get fortunate enough to go 8-2 again, we'd feel really good about it."

It won't come easy. Teams have tightened up their games, and Rollins is certainly one of them. The Tars have pulled out a two-point win and double-overtime victory in their past two league contests. They are 9-2 at home this season, and have not lost in Warden Arena since the opening weekend of the season.

"Every game is tough," said Glick, who is scoring 14.3 points over the past three games. "Hopefully, you can steal some on the road, but you've got to get some consistency."

One constant the last three games has been the play of Marko Tomic, who had double figures for the second straight game Wednesday, and has pulled down at least five rebounds in each of the past three games. He's shooting nearly 63 percent this season and 81 percent over that three-game stretch.

Bucs senior transfer Sunday Dech raised his game in the first half Wednesday, reaching double figures for the third time in the past four games. He has had five or more boards in the last seven games. Dech ranks 15th in the league in rebounding at 6.4 per game. 

"As we go into the next 10 games, second round, I think we have six on the road and four at home," Bucs fifth-year head coach Butch Estes said. "That makes it a little more challenging. If we can somehow manufacture an 8-2 run or 7-3, that might ... four or five losses might win the conference this year."

Second half Saturday, here we come.

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