DAVIE, Fla - With a sea of red behind them at the Rick Case Arena on Sunday afternoon, the seventh-seeded Barry University men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with top-seeded Nova Southeastern in the 2024 Sunshine State Conference Championship finals before the number one team in the country pulled await late in an 87-76 setback

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: 1 Seed Nova Southeastern 87, 7 Seed Barry 76
Records: Barry (17-14, 8-12 SSC), Nova (27-2, 18-2 SSC)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 42-33

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• 1H | Barry scored the opening basket of the contest, connecting on back-to-back jumpers to take an early 9-5 lead with 16:50 left in the first half. The two sides traded the ensuing 22 points with neither side holding a lead greater than four during the back-and-forth stretch before an 8-0 NSU rally flipped the four-point lead in the hosts' favor at 24-20 with 7:34 remaining in the half. Barry evened the score at 27-all and again at 29-29 before a 5-0 Sharks' spree pushed them ahead 37-32 with 2:34 left in the half. Nova ended the half six of the final nine points to hold a 43-35 lead at the break.
• 2H | Barry started the second half with five-straight points, responding to a Nova triple with another 5-0 run to make it a one-point contest at 46-45 with 16:40 left to play. The two sides split the ensuing 22 points to maintain the one-point separation, with Barry rallying back from a 6-0 Sharks with a 9-4 stretch to get back within two at 67-65 only for a triple and layup by Nova extending their lead to 72-65 with 4:49 left to play. The Sharks kept the lead above four for the duration of the contest.

NOTEWORTHY:

• All-Tournament Team honoree Nick Anderson paced the Bucs behind 22 points.
• All-Tournament Team member Gabe Hernandez added 16 points.
• James Montgomery added 11 points with nine rebounds.
• Barry converted on 26-68 from the field, 5-20 from three-point territory and 19-25 from the free throw line.
• Nova went 29-75 from the field, 6-24 from three-point territory and 23-31 from the free throw line.
• Barry committed 20 turnovers, resulting in 23 points for the hosts. NSU committed 14 turnovers, leading to 14 points for Barry.
• Nova held a 50-43 advantage in rebounds.
• Barry recorded eight steals with four blocks while Nova tallied 14 steals and eight blocks.

ON THE HORIZON:
The Bucs find out their postseason fate during the 2024 NCAA Division II Selection Show, airing on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 11 pm.