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Mocs stop Barry's upset bid

By ROD GIPSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 28, 2001

LAKELAND -- After toppling third seed Tampa to open the Sunshine State Conference tournament, then upsetting No. 2 Eckerd a night later, it seemed fitting that upstart Barry would beat top-seeded Florida Southern in the championship game to complete a Cinderella run.

But that run ended Tuesday as favorite Florida Southern handled the Bucs 81-76 to claim the SSC men's crown. The Moccasins (23-6) won their fourth straight tournament and head to the NCAA Division II tournament for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

It didn't come without effort. Barry (18-10), the tournament's sixth seed, shook off an eight-point deficit early in the second half and continually threatened the Mocs down the stretch. But each time the Bucs did, the No. 24 Moccasins had an answer, as Christophe Humbert, Nick Railsback or Ian Foster would hit a big basket or force a turnover.

Barry's most serious threat came in the final minutes when a Jason Junker three-pointer cut the margin to three. But three Jay Gibbons free throws ended the Bucs' final threat.

Humbert and Foster led Florida Southern with 16 points, and Railsback added 14. Travon Broadway led Barry with 23 points.

In the women's championship, Jill Razor had 21 points as Rollins shot 60 percent from the floor en route to a 93-76 win against Florida Tech to earn its second Sunshine State Conference title in three years and advance to the NCAA Division II South Region tournament for the third straight season.

The No. 8 Tars (26-3) built a small lead midway through the opening half. Then Candace Hensley, Shannon Pranger, Kenya Storr and Tarniesha Nichols scored as Rollins put up a 14-point lead by the half.

Florida Tech (19-10) chipped away in the second half, and when Hatasha Griffin made a layup with 12:37 left the Panthers trailed 59-53. But the rally quickly evaporated as the No. 1-seeded Tars regained their shooting touch.

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