By Jim McCurdy
BAS KET BALL
The Barry Buccaneers won the 2016 NCAA Division II South Region Men’s Basketball title and advanced to the quarterfinals round with an 87-83 come-frombehind win over the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. “We anticipated and hoped that it would come to this, but this certainly is a little bit surreal that we’re here right now this quickly in three years,” said head coach Butch Estes, who has a 70-21 record with three trips to the NCAA Tournament at Barry University. This was the first Elite Eight appearance for the Buccaneers, who claimed a co-championship in the Sunshine State Conference regular season. The Bucs lost in the quarterfinals to Lincoln Memorial, finishing their season with a school-record 26 wins. “It was a fun ride,” Barry senior Yunio Barrueta said. “I’m glad we made history at Barry, and we’ll forever be known, and I’m just glad I was a part of it.”
Going Pro
Yunio Barrueta ’16 inked a one-year deal with Crelan Okapi Aalstar in Belgium. Barrueta, a guard/ forward, received four All-America honors after averaging a school-record 24.4 points and grabbing 9.3 rebounds. In his senior year, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA South Region Tournament and a finalist for the Bevo Francis Small College Basketball Player of the Year award. Barrueta was also voted the Sunshine State Conference’s Player of the Year, and a first-team all-conference selection.
Amra Elezovic ’16 signed with the Dunkerque Malo Basket Club in the French Ligue 2. Elezovic, who earned first-team All-Sunshine State Conference honors as a senior, led the Bucs and the league in scoring in 2015-16 at 17.3 points per game. She also averaged a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game and shot 90.2 percent from the free throw line to set a school single-season record. Barry MAG | 34
Ines Kerin ’16, a shooting guard from Trbovlje, Slovenia, signed to play with Herner Turn Club in Germany. In her senior season with the Buccaneers, she averaged 12.7 points and 2.9 assists and received second team All-Sunshine State Conference honors. Barry MAG | 35
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Men’s Basketball Reaches Elite Eight