ST. LEO, Fla. -- The Buccaneers' amazing tournament run finally came to an end in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament championship game as the Barry University men's basketball team (15-15) ended their season with a 57-56 overtime loss to the top-seeded Rollins College Tars (23-7) on Sunday afternoon at the Bowman Center hosted by Saint Leo.
The Tars opened the first half with a 6-0 run to take an early lead with 17:02 to play. Both teams combined for 30 three-point attempts in the period with Barry converting on five. Rollins managed one better with six and carried a 30-24 lead into the break.
Ryan Saunders (Jr., Orlando, Fla.) converted a lay-up to open the second half of play that sparked a 10-5 run to give Barry their first lead of the game 36-35 with 16:38 left in regulation. Both teams exchanged leads six more times throughout the rest of the period. Finally, Otis White (Jr., Tampa, Fla.) converted a three-pointer at the 1:49 mark to notch the game at 53-53. Saunders had the last attempt for Barry, missing on a baseline drive to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Phil Puccia (Jr., Buffalo, N.Y.) hit another three-pointer to give Barry a 56-53 lead, but Rollins' Isaac Codrey made good on two free-throw attempts and a lay-up for the final four points of the game to lift the Tars to the win, 57-56.
"This was a great game by both teams," head coach Cesar Odio said. "After battling through the quarterfinals and the semifinals, it was amazing to see we still had the high energy we did today. We had a chance to win in the last seconds and again in overtime, but win or lose, I am extremely proud of my guys."
Saunders led all scorers with 18 points, while White and Amadou Fall (Jr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 14 and 11 points respectively. The Tars used a balanced offensive attack with John Thinnes leading the team with 13 points. Johnny Reibel and Codrey each added nine points.
The SSC All-tournament team was announced immediately following the tournament. Barry's Saunders and Fall earned All-tournament honors along with Rollins' Codrey and Reibel and Saint Leo's Scott Seifert. John Thinnes was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
The loss brings the Bucs season to an end, but Coach Odio is proud of the effort his team made the close out the season.
"Every coach dreams of having a team like this one," he said. "They all fought to the end and did it with heart and class. I'm extremely proud of both my team and coaching staff for how we presented ourselves on the court through out the entire tournament."
Newspaper Box Score
Barry vs Rollins College
03/05/06 1:00 pm at Saint Leo, Fla.
At Saint Leo, Fla.
ROLLINS COLLEGE 57, BARRY 56
BARRY (15-15)
SAUNDERS, Ryan 7-14 2-2 18; WHITE, Otis 5-9 0-0 14; FALL, Amadou 4-10 2-2
11; PUCCIA, Phil 3-13 0-0 9; WILLIS, Jeff 1-6 0-0 3; YOUNG, Eddie 0-3 1-2 1;
PARAFINCZUK, John 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 5-6 56.
ROLLINS COLLEGE (23-7)
THINNES, John 5-11 0-0 13; REIBEL, Jonny 3-7 3-3 9; CODREY, Isaac 3-8 2-2 9;
HOGAN, Kevin 2-6 0-0 6; SMITH, Jon 2-2 0-0 6; TROUPE, Deon 1-4 2-2 5; GIBBS,
Chauncey 2-2 1-2 5; RUSBOSIN, Nate 1-1 0-0 2; KOLOSEY, Jordan 1-4 0-3 2;
SWEENEY, Greg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 8-12 57.
Barry......................... 24 29 3 - 56
Rollins College............... 30 23 4 - 57
3-point goals-Barry 11-31 (WHITE, Otis 4-8; PUCCIA, Phil 3-12; SAUNDERS,
Ryan 2-5; WILLIS, Jeff 1-3; FALL, Amadou 1-2; YOUNG, Eddie 0-1), Rollins
College 9-26 (THINNES, John 3-9; HOGAN, Kevin 2-5; SMITH, Jon 2-2; TROUPE,
Deon 1-3; CODREY, Isaac 1-3; SWEENEY, Greg 0-1; REIBEL, Jonny 0-3). Fouled
out--Barry-FALL, Amadou, Rollins College-None. Rebounds-Barry 28 (FALL,
Amadou 7; YOUNG, Eddie 7), Rollins College 36 (KOLOSEY, Jordan 7).
Assists-Barry 12 (SAUNDERS, Ryan 6), Rollins College 10 (CODREY, Isaac 3;
KOLOSEY, Jordan 3). Total fouls-Barry 14, Rollins College 10. A-414
SSC Finals
Third OT