MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- The Barry Buccaneer men's basketball team rolled off a sixth-straight win to start the season, beating cross-town rival St. Thomas 68-65 in the Fernandez Family Center on Monday night.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Barry 68, St. Thomas 65
Records: Barry (6-0), St. Thomas (2-5)
All-Time Series: St. Thomas leads 13-10
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
SUMMARY:
- 1H - The game was nip-and-tuck early and tied at 8-8 with 11:43 to play in the period. The Bobcats pulled ahead 17-15 on a pair of free throws by Jonas Parker, but Barry came back to forge a 21-17 lead after STU head coach Patrick Crarey was ejected after picking up two technical fouls with 8:30 left in the period. St. Thomas closed the period on a 17-9 run to take the lead at the break. | St. Thomas 34, Barry 30
- 2H - The second half did not start very promising for the Bucs as the Bobcats came storming out of the locker room to go up 47-32 on a jumper by Augustus Stone at the 15:05 mark. Marcelo Perez came off the bench to spark an 18-3 run that tied the game at 50-50 just four minutes later. Perez scored eight points and Jake Kakar added four. Another Perez three-pointer gave Barry a 55-52 lead with 8:31 to play and the Bucs never trailed. Barry hit 5-of-6 from the line in the last 2:19 to preserve the win. | Barry 68, St. Thomas 65
NOTEWORTHY:
- On a night when the Bucs never found their shooting touch, connecting for just 28.1 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from the three-point line, they did just enough from the charity stripe to claim the win. Barry shot 75 percent (18-of-24) from the line.
- Barry also clamped down defensively on the Bobcats, forcing 29 turnovers and scoring 27 points off them. Barry, despite trailing 49-45 in rebounds, led 20-13 in second-chance points.
- Thanks to Perez's 11 points, the Bucs out-scored the Bobcats 39-8 off the pine. Nick Anderson added 17 points off the bench.
- Kakar also had 17 points.
- Parker and Stone each had 19 points to lead the Bobcats.
ON THE HORIZON:
Next up for the Bucs is a home contest against arch-rival Lynn on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the Health & Sports Center. The game matches the Bucs, with the top scoring offense in the Sunshine State Conference, against the Knights, who led the league in defense.
