RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Moccasins' basketball season came to an end Saturday, as they were upset by Barry, 64-59, in the first round of the NCAA South Regional here Saturday at Tucker Coliseum.
Seeded sixth in the regional, Barry upended the third-seeded Moccasins for the second time in a week, having topped them last Saturday in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament.
The two teams were tied at 32-32 at halftime, but Barry took a seven-point lead in the first 5:35 of the second half. The Bucs maintained the advantage until a pair of free throws by Terry Jenkins put the Moccasins ahead 56-55 with 2:03 left in the game.
Tony Dennison's three-pointer with 1:34 left put Barry back in front and the Buccaneers held on the rest of the way. After Erick Nsangou missed the second of two free throws with 28 seconds left, the Mocs had a chance to tie, but turned the ball over.
Dennison would make a pair of free throws to give Barry a 62-57 advantage with 13 seconds to go. John Thompson rebounded a missed three-point attempt and scored what would be the Mocs' final basket with nine seconds left to trim Barry's lead to three.
Following a Moccasin timeout, Barry spoiled any Moccasin hopes of a steal and possible basket to tie with a length of the court pass to Zack Trapp who scored on a layup for the final basket of the game.
The Moccasins finished their season at 25-5. Barry improved to 20-11 and advanced to the regional semifinals.
Terry Jenkins led the Moccasins with 18 points, hitting four three-pointers. Brandon Jenkins added 15 points, but no one else scored in double figures for the Moccasins. Thompson, the Moccasins' only senior, scored seven points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in his final FSC contest. His 13 rebounds moved him into a tie for 22nd with Simon Harper on the FSC career rebounding list with 585.
Barry was led by Dennison's 24 points in the victory.
