MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic men's basketball  won a close contest over Barry thanks to great defense and clutch free throws at the end. The Sailfish forced 21 turnovers on the night as they won 67-63. The Sailfish (7-9) won their third conference game of the year giving them a record of 3-5 while the Bucs (10-5) drop to 5-3 in the conference.

The Sailfish struggled offensively in the first half, connecting from only 29 percent of their shots and a dismal eight percent from three. Malek Barber was able to lead the way for the Sailfish as he gathered 10 points and three rebounds in his thirteen minutes. The Sailfish defense made up for the lack of offense. PBA created 15 turnovers which led to 15 points. Andrew Moemeka had two monster blocks as well as seven points in the half. The 'Fish got as much as an eight point lead in opening half mostly from a seven point run in which Moemeka was responsible for five points and Matthew Johnson added two on a layup. All was for not as Barry had an extensive run of their own scoring 13 straight points to put them up six with 6:57 remaining in the half. PBA responded well scoring the next nine points to put the 'Fish up three with two minutes to play. Before the half could end Barry drained a three to tie everything up 29-29 going into halftime.

PBA improved its offense in the second half shooting 37 percent from the floor including 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. They also tacked on 13 points from free throws, seven of which came in the final minute of play. De'Ondre Jackson had quite the second half accumulating 14 points in the second half after going scoreless in the first half. The game was very closely matched until Barry jumped out to an eight point lead with five minutes remaining. PBA battled back to get within one with three minutes to go before Barry made a jumper to extend the lead to three. Barber then drained a huge three pointer to tie the game with only 59 seconds left on the clock. From there Barry played the foul game as they turned the ball over two times in the next 35 seconds. PBA sank seven of their final eight free throws to seal the victory 67-63 over the Bucs.

The 'Fish shot 32 percent on the night going 22-for-68 from the floor and sinking 19 of their 23 free throws in the game. Barber was the leading scorer for PBA tallying 18 points on 10 shots and two free throws. Bakari Warthen was responsible for 13 points in the game while Jackson had 14. Warthen pulled down eight boards on the night and Moemeka had seven. Moemeka had himself a block party as he swatted away five Barry shots including one with only three seconds left on the clock.

Sailfish return to the court Saturday Jan. 19 as they take on Florida Tech in Melbourne, Fla. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm.