MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University's men's basketball team remembers the first encounter all too well.

It was back on Jan. 6 when Barry and Florida Tech met for the first time this season in Miami Shores. That's the date when things started to unravel for the then- No. 7/8-ranked Bucs. Barry had a seven-game winning streak entering that game. But when the Panthers shot lights out in the Health & Sports Center, it started a downward spiral for the Bucs.

Barry was not able to put together back-to-back wins since that loss to Florida Tech until Saturday. It also was the trigger point to Barry's departure from the national rankings. The Bucs went 3-5 over the next month from the time of the Florida Tech loss.

But back-to-back wins last week have gotten the Bucs back on track for a regular season championship in the Sunshine State Conference. The Buccaneers take their 15-6 overall, 11-5 SSC record into Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. game at Florida Tech (11-13, 6-10) in Melbourne.

"Tonight's game is our next step towards trying to win a championship," Barry assistant coach Justin Furr said. "The fact that these next four games will determine the regular season champion speaks volumes to the competitiveness of our league."  

A win over the Panthers would keep the Buccaneers atop the SSC standings heading into their 4 p.m. Saturday showdown with rival Nova Southeastern on ESPN3 at the Health & Sports Center. Barry has a one-game lead in the SSC.

But to get that win, the Bucs need to defend the Panthers' perimeter shooters. In the first meeting, Florida Tech shot 14 of 27 from three-point range. Tech hit 51 percent of its field goals, and went 24 of 33 from the free throw line. 

FIT's Sam Daniel is averaging 23.3 points per game. Jordan Majors is scoring 21.2. Patrick Anderson is averaging 12.2 points, and Richard Coil 11.3 points and nine rebounds.

Daniel leads the SSC in scoring. Barry's Elvar Fridriksson is second at 21.4 points per game. Fridriksson, the SSC Player of the Week, has averaged 25 points over the last three games. Bucs forward Daniel Mortensen is scoring 21.5 over the past two. Guard Sawyer Glick has put up 17.7 points per game over the past three.

But more importantly, the Buccaneers have gotten back to playing Barry basketball, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

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