Men's Basketball | 12/28/2018 1:13:00 PM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—The Barry Buccaneers jump back into Sunshine State Conference play on Sunday, hosting the Florida Tech Panthers at Cesar Odio Court. The women tip at 2:00 pm, followed by the men at 4:00 pm. 

Women's Basketball - Sunday, Dec. 30; 2:00 pm; Cesar Odio Court in the Health & Sports Center

The Barry women's basketball team (3-7, 1-2 SSC) has played one of the toughest schedules in NCAA Division II this season, with the 10 previous opponents combining for a 81-24 record so far this year. So far, in the WBCA National Poll, the Bucs have faced #1 Union, #3 West Texas A&M, #12 Virginia Union and have upcoming games against #17 Florida Southern. The Bucs are coming off losses to #3 West Texas (10-0) and Truman (11-1) at the Cruzin' Classic. Harriet Swindells came off the bench to lead the team with 34 points in the two games, hitting 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from three-point range.

Sophomore guard Nichel Tampa paces the team with 15.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game. She also adds 6.5 rebounds per game, good for second on the team. Senior Ida Andersson leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game and chips in 14.5 points and 2.1 assists. 

The Panthers (6-4, 0-2 SSC) snapped a six game losing streak right before the break, beating Findlay (7-3) and Texas Women (5-5) in the Tampa Holiday Classic. Tereza Sedlakova led the Panthers with 28 points in the two contests. Kailyn Ebb added 25 points and 15 rebounds.

Senior guard Gracie Doane leads the Panthers with 12.1 points per game. Ebb chips in 10.4 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds. Fanny Hakanson averages a team-best 4.4 assists per game.

GAME NOTES:

• Florida Tech leads the all-time series 42-28, although Barry has won two of the last three, both wins coming in Miami Shores.
• Last season, the Bucs won 72-70 in Miami Shores, while Florida Tech took a 60-45 win in Melbourne.

Men's Basketball - Sunday, Dec. 30; 4:00 pm; Cesar Odio Court in the Health & Sports Center

The Barry men (7-3, 2-1 SSC) are coming off back-to-back losses before Christmas for the first time since 2012-13, dropping games to #1-ranked Bellarmine and Southern Indiana at the Bellarmine Classic Dec. 18-19. Tylan Birts (11.0 points) and Marcelo Perez (10.0 points) led the way for the Bucs in Louisville.

Daniel Mortensen continues to pace the team with 14.2 points per game. Birts chips in 10.7 points on 63.5 percent shooting and leads the team with 5.5 rebounds. Marco Tomic also averages 5.5 rebounds per game and is third at 10.1 points per game. David Moya averages 4.2 assists per game and leads the league with a 3.2 assist/turnover ratio.

The Panthers hosted the Florida Tech Winter Classic before the break and split a pair of games, beating Columbia International 96-82 but falling 78-74 to Tiffin. Derek Murphy lead the Panthers with 29.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Antonis Pefanis added 19 points per game and Valur Valsson averaged 11.0 assists per game.

Murphy leads the conference at 21.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Pefanis chips in with 17.6 points per game and RJ Coil adds another 13.1 points and 9.0 rebounds. Valsson's 7.7 assists also is tops in the league.

GAME NOTES:

• Barry leads the all-time series 39-27, despite losing the first nine games back in the early 90s. In the last five years under coach Butch Estes, the Bucs have taken 10 of 12 contests.
• The Bucs won two out of three last season. The Panthers took a 96-83 win in Miami Shores in the regular season, as the Bucs were without All-American Elvar Fridriksson. Barry bounced back for a 95-90 win in Melbourne as they went on to claim the SSC championship for the third straight year. In the SSC Tournament quarterfinals, again in Miami Shores, the Bucs prevailed 102-83.