CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Tyree Barba-Bey exploded for a career-high 31 points in a 78-70 loss at Boston College on Saturday evening. FDU falls to 4-11, while the Golden Eagles improve to 8-5.
Barba-Bey's 31-point outburst is significant on a few fronts. To start, it surpasses his previous career high of 25 points he set while at Jefferson (Division II). Secondly, it is the most points ever scored by an FDU player against an ACC opponent. Lastly, Barba-Bey went 10-12 from the field and 8-9 from deep. Eight threes are tied for second-most ever by an FDU player in a single game.
Barba-Bey is now averaging 23 points per game over his last two outings.
Terrence Brown played an extremely strong supporting role in this one. The Northeast Conference's leading scorer struggled out of the gate, only scoring five in the first half, but finished the game with 20 points. His 15 second half points helped cut the Boston College lead down to as little as four in the game's waning moments.
FDU's ability to both take care of and share the basketball continues to be an encouraging trend. Tonight, the Knights totaled 15 assists and turned it over only seven times. They have won the turnover battle in three of last their last four games, which includes bouts with Villanova and Minnesota in addition to Boston College. In each of these games, FDU has turned it over less than ten times.
At the start of this game, FDU struggled to score it. The Knights were only able to tally five total points before the 11:57 mark in the first half. This put them in an early 14-5 hole. The Boston College lead grew to as many as 12, but FDU remained in it. Barba-Bey knocked down a triple to cut the lead to 29-24 with four minutes left before the break.
The Knights went into the locker room trailing 38-28.
FDU wound up outscoring the Golden Eagles in the second half, but that was not before Boston College grabbed a 15-point lead, their largest advantage of the game. The Knights needed a spark and Bismark Nsiah provided it. The graduate student knocked down two threes to start a 9-2 FDU spurt. This cut the lead to eight. Nsiah finished with 10 points.
Boston College's lead would grow back to 12, but the Knights did not go away. Barba-Bey and Brown continued to make shots and FDU made it a 74-70 game with 39 seconds to go. A made layup and two free throws helped Boston College seal the game.
WHAT'S NEXT
FDU now arrives at conference play. Their NEC opener is on January 5 in Staten Island against defending NEC tournament champions Wagner. The game tips at 1 p.m. on NEC Front Row.
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Bogota Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor of the 2024-2025 FDU men's basketball season
