Men's Basketball | 3/5/2019 12:00:00 PM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla.— The Barry University men's basketball team ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak that included wins over No. 23-ranked Florida Southern and No. 15-ranked Lynn University. The Bucs look to take that momentum into the 2019 Sunshine State Conference tournament that begins on Wednesday, March 6th as the fifth seed taking on the fourth seed - Eckerd in St. Petersburg, Fla at the McCarthur Center.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Barry split the season-series with the Eckerd Tritons. Game one was in Miami Shores on December 8th when the Buccaneers came out on top 80-74 behind a season-high 26 points and six rebounds from junior Tylan Birts. The Buccaneers outscored the Tritons 46-20 in the paint and dished out 23 assists on 30 made field goals. Daniel Mortensen was also key in the victory with a double-double consisting of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Mortensen also had six assists and five blocks.
• In February, game two in St. Pete was controlled by the Tritons from start to finish. It was the first loss to the Tritons at the McCarthur Center since 2016. The Bucs got off 11 more shots than the Tritons, thanks to 16 offensive rebounds, but hit just 36.4 percent from the floor and just 4-for-29 from three-point range. 
• In the 2018 SSC Tournament Final, Barry lost to Eckerd, but would get a rematch with the Tritons in the South Region Final and move on to the Elite 8 for the second time in three seasons.
• Eckerd is led by senior guard Drushaun McLaurn who is averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Jacksonville, Fla native ranks 9th in the SSC in scoring. Despite averaging 17 PPG in his two games against Barry, the Bucs have held McLaurn to 33 percent shooting. As a whole, the Buccaneers have held Eckerd under 40 percent shooting as a team this season, but the Tritons have been able to cash in at the free throw line. Eckerd has gone to the charity stripe 52 times in two games against the Bucs. 
• On Saturday, the 23-year career of Eckerd's all-time winningest coach - Tom Ryan was celebrated in style as the Tritons closed the regular season with an 82-74 win over Embry-Riddle in the McArthur Center. The game was Ryan's last regular-season home contest. He has won 246 games in the McArthur Center in his 23-year tenure.
• Eckerd leads the series all-time 46-32