Box Score MIAMI GARDENS - For the first time since 2011, Florida Southern tasted defeat in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament here Wednesday evening as the eighth-seeded Moccasins fell 95-79 to top-seeded and 17th-ranked Barry in a quarterfinal game played at St. Thomas University.
Wednesday's game, which was scheduled to be played on the Barry campus at its Health and Sports Center, was moved to St. Thomas University late in the due to unforeseen circumstances that arose.
With the setback, the reigning National Champion Moccasins conclude the 2015-16 campaign with a 10-19 record, while Barry improved to 22-5 and advanced to an SSC Tournament semifinal meeting on Saturday at Embry-Riddle's ICI Center against fourth-seeded Saint Leo.
Wednesday's loss snapped an 11-game win streak for the Mocs in the SSC Tournament as the Moccasins had taken home the last four SSC Tournament titles. Prior to Wednesday's loss to Barry, FSC last lost in the SSC Tournament to Eckerd (70-69) in the semifinals of the 2011 tournament played at Florida Tech.
The Mocs, who trailed 49-38 at the half, used a 19-9 run midway through the second half to turn a 13 point deficit into a one possession game following a trey by junior guard Sheldon Zablotny (Erie, Pa.) with 8:02 left in the game to cap the run. Zablotny's trey brought the Mocs within three points at 71-68. FSC's run was aided by eight points from senior guard Dominique Williams, who earlier in the day on Wednesday was tabbed a Second-Team All-SSC selection.
Williams, who was one of four seniors that played their final game in a Moccasin uniform on Wednesday night, finished the night with 22 points and closed out his collegiate career with 1,273 points, which puts him 16th on the school's all-time scoring chart.
In addition to Williams, All-SSC first team guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.), guard Melique Hill (Tampa, Fla.) and guard Alex McClanahan (Maitland, Fla.) were the other seniors on this year's team.
"I would like to thank the four seniors for their dedication and commitment to the program. They have had a ton of success and will leave their names in the record books," Moccasin head coach Mike Donnelly said.
Zablotny's trey would be as close as the Mocs would get, though, as the Buccaneers, who shared the regular season SSC title with both Eckerd and Rollins, responded with a 16-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to push its lead to 87-70.
The Mocs halted the Bucs run with a 3-pointer by freshman forward Jarel Spellman (Richmond, Va.), but Barry would close out the game by scoring eight of the final 14 points to snap a two-game losing skid to the Mocs in the SSC Tournament. Last season, the Mocs defeated the Bucs, 93-83 to claim its fourth straight tournament title and they also defeated the Bucs, 75-57 in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 tournament in Kissimmee.
In addition to Williams' 22 points, Zablotny added 17 points, while Travis chipped in with 12 points in his final collegiate game. The fourth Moccasin in double figures was Spellman as he had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. He also had one blocked shot and finishes the 2015-16 season with 90 blocks, which is third most on the school's single season chart.
Travis closed out his Moccasin career just 69 points shy of 1,000 career points as he scored 931 points in two seasons after transferring from Iowa Central Community College. With his 12 points, Travis finished the season by scoring in double figures in every game he played in, including scoring 20 or more points in three of his last four games.
Yunio Barrueta paced the Barry attack on Wednesday as the SSC Player of the Year finished with 22 points and eight boards, while Tray Leonard added 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Anders Haas added 18 points and Arie Williams finished with 12 points off the bench in the win.
The Mocs closed the game shooting 42 percent from the field and were 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) from the 3-point line. FSC also shot 88 percent (15-for-17) from the free throw line, including a 7-for-7 effort at the line from Williams.
FSC held a 35-34 edge on the glass, including a 14-10 advantage on the offensive glass, but committed 18 turnovers that led to 27 Barry points. The Buccaneers had just 13 turnovers on the night.
In the team's second meeting earlier this season in Miami Shores, Barry held a 60-32 edge on the boards in its 101-63 victory. FSC earned a 74-72 win in the first meeting this season between the two teams to open SSC play on Nov. 18 in Lakeland.
"We did a much better job on the boards this time around from when we faced them previously," the Moc coach said.
Barry shot 53 percent from the field, including shooting 58 percent from the field after halftime and also shot 38 percent from long distance and was 14-for-16 (87.5 percent) at the free throw line.
Barry jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led 15-4 in the game's opening four-plus minutes when the Mocs responded with a 12-8 run capped by a trey from Williams to pull within 23-16 with 10:01 left in the opening half.
The Bucs, though, would respond by using a 12-0 run to push its lead to 19 points at 35-16 with 8:32 remaining in the opening half.
FSC would again try and mount a comeback as they answered Barry's 12-0 run with a 14-4 run of its own to pull within nine at 39-30 with 3:49 left in the opening half. The Mocs run began with a lay-up from sophomore forward Tyler Ross (St. John, Ind.) and was capped by two Williams free throws.
Barry would close out the first half on a 10-8 run to take its 49-38 lead at intermission.
"Next season starts tomorrow. We have to get a lot better and a lot tougher and we will," said Donnelly, who completed his first season as the Moccasins' coach with Wednesday night's defeat.
