BOX SCORE

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – As it has been in the last three Barry-NSU games, it came down to the wire with 1.3 seconds left on the clock. Barry’s (8-15, 5-9 SSC) Willie Whitfield laid in a shot as the clock struck zero and the Bucs defeated the Nova Southeastern University men’s basketball team (12-11, 5-8 SSC), 72-71, Wednesday evening in the Health & Sports Center.

As senior Alex Gynes (Nowra, Australia) was fouled below the basket with 3.8 second left, NSU just needed a stop as the Sharks took the 71-70 lead as he drained both free-throws. Sophomore Darien Dyer (Miami, Fla.) knocked the ball out of the hands of Evan White and out of bounds with 1.3 seconds left.

As Barry’s Vladimir Raymonvil had limited options on the inbounds play near the Bucs bench, he found Whitfield under the basket for the win.

Gynes finished with a game-high 27 points, hitting a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line. Junior Teddy Tassy (Boca Raton, Fla.) finish one shy of his career high with 23 points but set a new career-high in rebounds with nine. Tassy finished the second half scoring 18 points.

The Sharks outrebounded the Bucs on the glass, 44-35, but a season low three 3’s for 13.6 percent (3-for-22) was a difference maker in the game. The Bucs were 11-for-31 behind the arc.

In a fast past first half, both teams combined for 65 field goal attempts, but hit only 23. Barry hit 14-for-34 for 41 percent as the Sharks struggled as they connected on 9-for-31 for 29 percent.

The Sharks only drained one three in the first 20 minutes, the lowest in a first half this season.

NSU started strong as they took an 8-4 lead. Barry answered back with 8-0 run to retake the lead five minutes into the game. That run paced Barry for the rest of the half as they even extended their lead by 12 on multiple occasions.

Nova Southeastern closed out the first half on an 8-3 run, pulling within seven at intermission, down 39-32.

Between Gynes, Tassy and Lemar Dyer (Sr., Miami, Fla.) the Sharks rallied to pull within reach of Barry early in the second half.

Gynes worked hard down low to hit the jumper in the paint and pulled the Sharks within one basket at the 16:13 mark. Continuing to find his niche, Gynes pulled an identical move in NSU’s next possession as Barry lead was cut to one, 42-41.

Three straight turnovers by the Bucs was all the Sharks need as they took a 43-42 lead on a John Brooks (Sr., Perris, Calif.) layup on the fast break.

From that point forward, the game became a back-and-forth battle with neither team pulling ahead by a vast amount.

With 2:30 remaining in the game, the Sharks overpowered the Buccaneers on the offensive boards as NSU used nearly an entire minute off the clock.

Even at 68-68 with 2:00 minutes remaining in regulation, White from Barry hit a jumper as the Bucs now had a two-point edge.

Tassy reached the line with 48 seconds left, but only hit one as NSU trailed by one. The Sharks only option was to foul and it turned out to be the best thing because White missed the first attempt on the one-and-one and now the Sharks had possession with 11 seconds left.

Whitfield fouled Gynes hard but it did not shake him as he hit both as NSU took the late lead, 71-70. Barry was not taken back by the late free-throws and pulled out the victory on the Whitfield buzzer beater.

Nova Southeastern will stay on the road as they travel north to face the Spartans on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 4 p.m. in Tampa.