The Park University Gilbert welcomed Saint Katherine to town for their final home conference matchup and found out exactly why the Firebirds boast the best record in the Cal Pac. The Buccaneers got off to a hot start, but fell, 83-72.
With a Tyson Beringer Jr. three-pointer, the Buccaneers jumped out to an eight-point lead.
Beringer Jr. knocked down that shot and gave the Bucs their biggest lead of the night out of a Firebirds' timeout. Unfortunately for Park, it was out of that timeout that the Firebirds were able to regroup.
They took a lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half and never looked back. The Firebirds flexed their significant strength and physicality advantage as they dominated the rebounding battle, 49-22. 19 of those Firebirds' rebounds were offensive, which they turned into 18 second chance points.
What kept a glimmer of hope alive for the Buccaneers was their shooting performance. They got out to their early lead shooting over 50 percent, while the Firebirds shot under 40. The Firebirds finished at a solid 43.9%, but were beat out in that category by a 46.2% finish from the Bucs.
Erik Palmer led the way with a game-high 22 points and five rebounds; it was his sixth time scoring 20+ points this season. He was followed by Jacob Bingham (16 points), who continued his hot streak with his fifth consecutive 10+ point game. On his senior night, Beringer finished with seven points, five rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
With the loss, the Buccaneers are now 5-20 overall and 1-8 in conference play.
Next Up
The Buccaneers now finish off their season with three road games. On Feb. 11 and 12, they travel to California for matchups with Antelope Valley and La Sierra. They finish the season on Feb. 19 at Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).
