LAKELAND, Fla. – With the second meeting of the season between Florida Southern and Barry men's basketball, no overtime was needed at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House as the Moccasins defeated the Buccaneers 98-88 to split the Sunshine State Conference series 1-1.
"It was great being back at home," head coach
Mike Donnelly said. "And it's great to get a big win. We knew this was an important game, and the guys were locked in and ready to play. I was happy with our speed, intensity, and energy tonight. We played hard and shared the ball, enabling us to get into a good flow and rhythm offensively."
Florida Southern moves to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in league play, while Barry drops to 13-9 overall and 6-8 in conference games.
Akol Arop paced the Moccasins on the floor with a career and game-high 27 points while adding 13 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end. The Omaha, Neb. native also tallied four massive blocks on the defensive side with one steal and one assist. He finished the game on 12-of-17 shooting from the field including a 2-for-5 performance from beyond the arc and made one free throw.
Luke Anderson and
Joe Moon IV each finished with 19 points, ahead of
Erickson Bans' 13 off the bench.
Dominick Denny chipped in eight points, eight rebounds, and seven assists finishing just shy of a special night.
Noah Louis joined Denny with eight points on the night.
Donovan Smith and
Connor Raines closed the scoring column for Florida Southern on the night with two points each.
Six players for Barry scored in double-figures, paced by James Montgomery who tallied a double-double with 19 rebounds.
Florida Southern won the jump ball, but it would be Barry who scored first at the 19:02 mark before a quick tie from
Joe Moon IV. The Bucs retook a quick 4-2 lead, but strong defensive and good offensive possessions saw the Mocs climb to a 13-point lead (19-6) with 14:20 to play.
Florida Southern continued to push the tempo and went up by 21 on a
Luke Anderson turnaround jumper (35-14) with 8:55 to go in the opening frame. Barry would narrowly outscore Florida Southern in the final eight minutes, 22-18, but the Moccasins would hold a 17-point advantage (53-36) at the halftime break as Moon drained a three as the first half expired.
The Mocs controlled the second half, pushing out to their largest lead of the game of 22 points (79-57) with 10:04 to go. Barry would whittle away at the deficit but Florida Southern held strong down the stretch, going on for the 10-point win (98-88) eliminating the chance of overtime unlike the two teams' first meeting in January in Miami Shores.
Florida Southern remains home when the Moccasins welcome the Lions of Saint Leo University to campus Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip inside the Jenkins Field House. The Lions (9-13, 4-10 SSC) travel to Lakeland after a bye and on a two-game skid falling to Rollins 93-74 on Feb. 7.
