Box Score View photos from the "Night of Champions" recognition
LAKELAND - When it comes to defensive basketball, no team in the Sunshine State Conference has done it better than the Barry Buccaneers over the last 10 years. Saturday night, however, the Florida Southern Moccasins were one team that did. The Mocs held Barry to just 44 points and 34 percent shooting and pulled away in the second half for a 61-44 victory, halting the Buccaneers' three-game winning streak.
The 44 points were the fewest allowed by Florida Southern (16-6, 7-3) in Linc Darner's five years as head coach, and the fewest allowed by any Moccasin team since a 60-44 win over Saint Leo in 2005. For their part, the Buccaneers (7-13, 4-7) have held the Mocs to their two lowest point totals of the year, and in each of the last four meetings, has held them more than 20 points below their season scoring average. The 61 points the Mocs scored on Saturday was the most they've had in any of those four games, but it was more than enough for a win.
Florida Southern helped its cause by making ten 3-pointers, while Barry was just 5-for-18 behind the arc. How good was the defense? The Bucs made just one field goal in the first six minutes-plus, and were in danger of ending the first half shooting less than 20 percent until making their final two shots to go into halftime trailing 30-21. The Mocs then closed out the game by holding Barry to three points in the final six minutes, and none in the final three-and-a-half.
In fact, neither team scored after Damon Ellison's bucket at the 3:20 mark gave the Mocs their 61-44 lead. At one point during that stretch, with the help of a Barry foul, the Mocs maintained possession for almost a minute before giving the ball back on a missed shot, then held it for over a minute on their next possession after grabbing an offensive rebound and milking the clock some more.
The Mocs led by double digits for most of the second half after Terry Jenkins hit an early 3-pointer to put them up by 12. Jenkins finished with a game-high 20 points, and was 5-for-11 from 3-point range. Rion Rayfield was the only Moccasin in double figures with 10 points, and it was his 3-pointer with 10:30 to play in the first half that snapped a 12-12 tie and gave Florida Southern the lead for good. Jenkins then hit another trey with 6:48 on the clock that started a 10-0 run, and sent the Mocs on their way to a nine-point halftime advantage.
Brandon Jenkins added nine points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Cameron Wooten had eight points and six boards.
Barry had no one in double figures, with Evan White coming off the bench for a team-leading nine points. It was a reversal of the earlier meeting in Miami Shores when the Mocs' leading scorer had just eight points.
Florida Southern returns to the court on Wednesday night when it hosts Saint Leo at 7:30 p.m.
