MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- The No. 7/8 ranked Barry Buccaneers rode a strong defense and post offense to a 79-63 win over the Saint Leo Lions on Wednesday night in the Health & Sports Center in Sunshine State Conference men's basketball action on Cesar Odio Court.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Barry 79, Saint Leo 63
Records: Barry (10-1, 6-0 SSC), Saint Leo (8-10, 4-3 SSC)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 36-35

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"Sunday (Dech) played a marvleous game tonight. He held their leader (Junior) Searcy to just two points. That's really the key to the game, right there."
--Barry University Coach Butch Estes

SUMMARY:

• 1st Half - The Lions came out fired up and grabbed an early lead. Pape Ngom hit a jumper in the lane at 13:06 to give the Lions a 10-5 lead. But that would be their high-water mark. Though the Bucs tied it at 10-10, the Lions built it back up to four points on several occasions. But late in the half, the Bucs flipped a 20-19 lead for Saint Leo into a 31-23 advantage with a 12-3 run. The Bucs carried a six-point lead into the break. | Barry 37, Saint Leo 31
• 2nd Half - The Bucs scored the first four points of the period to take a 10-point lead, but the Lions clawed back, cutting back to a two-point game, 54-52, with 9:05 to play on a three-pointer by DeAndre King. But the Bucs used a 12-0 run over the next 3:21 to lead by 14 and the Lions never got it back to single digits. | Barry 79, Saint Leo 63

NOTEWORTHY:

• Elvar Fridriksson had a game-high 32 points and added five rebounds and eight assists. He was 12-of-18 from the field. The rest of the team combined for 20-of-43.
• Johannes Dolven scored all 12 of his points in the second half and the Bucs pulled away.
• Tyreece Brice lead Saint Leo with 17 points. King had 14 and Isaiah Hill added 11.
• Despite allowing the Lions 14 offensive rebounds, the Bucs led 43-40 on the glass.
• Barry, who came in leading the SSC in three-point shooting, hit just 4-of-20 from behind the arc. They made up for it, however, by scoring 48 in the paint.

ON THE HORIZON:

The Bucs host the Florida Tech Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2:00 pm on Cesar Odio Court in the Health & Sports Center.