MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Despite the Tritons' offensive outburst throughout the second half, Barry rallied to even the score in regulation before outlasting Eckerd in overtime Saturday afternoon in the Health and Culture Center as the Eckerd men's basketball team dropped a nail-biting SSC contest, 96-93.
After trailing at halftime, Eckerd's offense caught fire to start the second half to take a double-digit lead. EC led by as many as 13 points in the half, but Barry rallied in the final two minutes and made a long-distance triple to force the game into overtime. Neither team took more than a one-possession lead in overtime before Barry edged Eckerd for the win.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Barry 96, Eckerd 93 (OT)
Records: Eckerd 7-14 (3-10 SSC); Barry 15-5 (9-4 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- Eckerd jumped out to a slight 9-5 edge at the 16:26 mark following a Travis Bianco jumper. Barry took the lead just a minute later and they held a one-possession favor over the next two minutes before going on a 12-2 run to take a 28-18 lead at the 9:31 mark.
- The Buccaneers briefly stretched their lead to 12 before the Tritons scored eight straight points -six of which came from Admir Radoncic- to cut the deficit to four with 3:35 remaining. BU pushed out to a 10-point lead following back-to-back 3-pointers a minute later. However, Eckerd finished the half on a 9-2 run to trim Barry's lead to just three at 41-38 at halftime.
- After an opening layup by Barry's Johannes Dolven, Eckerd strung together eight consecutive points to take a 46-43 lead at the 16:43 mark. The teams swapped baskets over the next stretch before back-to-back triples by Bianco and Malcolm Whitlow ignited a 10-1 run as EC took a 60-50 lead with 11:32 left.
- Barry briefly cut Eckerd's lead down to six, but the Tritons quickly pushed their lead back out to 10 before a Kristiyan Stavrev triple put EC up by 13 with under six minutes remaining. Barry followed with nine straight points to pull within four with 3:46 left. A Stavrev triple pushed EC back out to seven with two minutes remaining, and the Tritons stayed in front by seven with 52 seconds left. However, BU trimmed the deficit to three with 11 seconds left and Tylan Birts hit a deep 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to tie the game at 86-86 and force overtime.
- BU opened the extra period with a pair of layups, but a Bianco triple and Radoncic layup gave Eckerd a one-point lead with 2:15 left. The Bucs pulled ahead on a layup, but a Radoncic free throw evened the score at 92-92 with 58 seconds left. Moya made two free throws 30 seconds later, giving the Bucs the lead. Whitlow pulled EC within one following a free throw, but Moya made another two free throws in the final seconds to seal the Barry win.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- All five Triton starters- Radoncic (25), Bianco (22), Stavrev (17), Whitlow (15), and O'Shane Taylor-Douglas (10)- reached double figures.
- Radoncic tied his career-high for the second time this week with 25 points while he added a career-high 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double this season.
- Radoncic also posted a career-high three blocks.
- Whitlow grabbed four steals.
- Eckerd shot 48.0 percent from the perimeter with 12 made 3-pointers as Bianco and Stavrev each made five.
- Eckerd forced 21 turnovers, which are a season-high for Barry.
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QUOTABLE
"I am really proud of our team, we battled and gave it everything we had today," said head coach
Bryan Galuski. "Our hunger and thirst for excellence will never go away and with each game remaining, we will continue to compete."
UP NEXT
Eckerd faces a bye game midweek but returns to the McArthur Center on Saturday, hosting Nova Southeastern at 4:00 PM.
