SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Barry University's Elite Eight season came to an end Tuesday at the Pentagon after falling to No. 2 Ferris State, 87-84.

The eighth-seeded Buccaneers trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but cut it to 39-37 at the break. Elvar Fridriksson, a Third Team All-American who finished his career with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds, had a chance to put the Bucs ahead at the end of the first half twice following a pair of defensive boards by Johannes Dolven, but both shots rimmed off.

The Bucs shot 39.7 percent in the opening half. The Bulldogs hit 41.7 percent of their shots. Barry's Marko Tomic went 4 for 4 from the floor in the first half.

The Bulldogs extended their lead back to 11 with 14:32 to go, but Barry pulled within five on a layup by Evan Walshe at the 10:01 mark. After Ferris State pushed the lead back to 10, the Bucs went on an 8-0 run to cut it to 68-66 on a layup by Tomic at the 6:40 mark. The Bulldogs re-extended their lead to six, but free throws by Fridriksson and a dunk by Daniel Mortensen with 1:46 left pulled Barry within three, 80-77.


Ferris State scored on the next possession, but Mortensen buried a three with 1:06 on the clock to cut it to two. After the Bulldogs went back up by four, Sunday Dech hit a driving layup with 11 seconds to go to trim it to 84-82. Drew Cushingberry split a pair of free throws for Ferris with five seconds left before Fridriksson sank two at the other end to make it a one-point game. But the Bulldogs went 2 for 4 at the stripe down the stretch, and Fridriksson's desperation heave at the buzzer was off the mark.

Tomic shot 7 of 7 from the floor, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine boards. Mortensen finished with 17 points, and Walshe 13.

"We certainly had our chances," Bucs coach Butch Estes said. "We had numerous opportunities, and normally throughout the year and throughout the time we've been at Barry, those plays have worked for us and the ball has fallen our way. Today it didn't."
 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Ferris State 87, Barry 84
Records: Barry (23-9), Ferris State (36-1)
All-Time Series: Barry trails series, 1-0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Bucs fell behind by nine out of the gates when Ferris State's Zach Hankins, a Second Team All-American, threw down a dunk 4:28 into the game. Kooper Glick scored in the paint at the 14:04 mark to cut it to six. DeShaun Thrower converted a three-point play to bump the Bulldogs lead to 13 before Dolven sank a pair of free throws following a 1:59 scoreless stretch from both teams. 
• Peter Firlik hit a 3 to give Ferris a 14-point lead, but Tomic answered with a triple of his own less than a minute later. The Bulldogs scored the next four points to build their largest lead of the game, 29-14. Barry ran off 10 unanswered points to draw within five, 31-26, with 4:54 remaining in the first half.
• Ferris State kicked its lead to eight on a three by Noah King, but Walshe answered with a driving layup, and Glick sank a pair of free throws to pull within four. Dolven stuck a 10-foot baseline jumper with 2:22 on the clock to cut it to 37-34. Firlik scored 1:02 later before Fridriksson canned a triple at the 1:05 mark to make it 39-37. Neither team scored the rest of the half.
• The Bulldogs opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead. Mortensen and Tomic sandwiched threes around a lay-in by Firlik to bring the Bucs within 49-43. Thrower hit a three to push Ferris State's lead to 11, but Fridriksson found Walshe slashing to the basket for a lay-in at the midway point in the second half to cut it to five. 
• Ferris built the lead back to 10, but the Bucs went on an 8-0 run to get within 68-66 on Tomic's layup. Four more times the Bulldogs crept back out to a six-point lead, but Mortensen went soaring to the rim for a dunk and then hit a three on a dish from Glick within a 40-second span to make it 82-80. After Firlik and Thrower each split a pair, Dech scored to keep it a two-point game. Cushingberry missed the first free throw before sinking the second as the Bulldogs went up, 85-82, with 10 seconds to go. 
• The Bulldogs elected to foul Fridriksson, racing up the court with an opportunity to tie. He sank both free throws to pull Barry within one with five seconds on the clock. But Cushingberry hit the first of two, and Hankins came up with a big offensive board before splitting the pair. After Tomic grabbed the rebound on his miss, the Bucs had just over a second to work with, and couldn't get off a quality shot.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Tomic was perfect from the field for the third time this season. 
• Fridriksson fell one assist shy of 200 for the third straight season. He was three shy of 700 in his three-year Bucs career.
• Dolven's eight rebounds were the most since he had nine on Jan. 31.
• The Bucs outscored the Bulldogs, 30-19, in bench points.
• Both teams scored 36 points in the paint.
• Barry finished the season with 20-plus wins for the fourth straight year.
• The Buccaneers outscored the Bulldogs, 16-9, in second chance opportunities.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"Our goal is to win the whole thing, but today we came up short. Luck was on their side."
            -- Barry junior forward Marko Tomic