Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Even though the Eckerd College men's basketball team is on a four-game winning streak, head coach
Tom Ryan feels his team is still adjusting to the new season as it continues to develop its identity on the court.
Eckerd extended its winning streak on Tuesday night, knocking off NCAA Division III Franklin (Ind.) College, 82-67.
Ryan likes the aggression his team has been showing throughout the first five games, but he would like to see the team develop more patience on both sides of the ball to compliment that aggression.
"I like the aggressiveness, and we're going to try to build on the aggressiveness," he said. "But I want us to become a little more savvy on offense on knowing when we need to control the ball a little more and when we need to shoot those shots."
That patience could go a long way for the Tritons (4-1, 1-0 SSC) as they committed 14 turnovers on the night, 10 in the first half, and took shots early in the shot clock. The turnovers were something that pained Ryan in the first half, but he was pleased with the improved performance after the break.
"We just haven't found ourselves completely. We created some good opportunities early in the shot clock, but if we were a little more patient we'd get better shots. The shots we were taking were good shots, shots that I would probably tell the guys 'Nice job' late in the shot clock," he said. "I just felt like If we were a little more patient we might get to the basket, we might get the ball into the post, or we might get it in the hands of one of our spot-up shooters."
Getting the ball to the spot-up shooters helped spark the Tritons tonight as they hit eight shots from beyond the arc. More movement could lead to opportunities for both the outside shooters and inside threats which would cause problems for opposing defenses.
The Grizzlies (0-5, 0-0 HCAC) showed off their range as well with nine 3-pointers on the night, some of which came from well beyond the arc.
"We knew their guards are quick and can shoot the ball way out," Ryan said. "I thought that we could have done a better job containing them and that our guys got impatient on defense. They played very hard but played impatient."
Jerrick Stevenson opened the scoring for both teams with a jumper inside the paint at the 18:35 mark in the first half, and Eckerd held that lead until the final whistle.
The biggest lead of the night came with 17:43 remaining in the contest when
Obi Kyei drove through the defense for a layup to put the Tritons up by 18.
Kyei led EC with a career-high 15 points and was the game leader with eight rebounds and two blocked shots on the night.
Kevin Walsh followed in scoring with 14 points and
Ray Darnell in rebounding at seven.
Franklin's Robbie Prather led all scorers with 19 points which included four 3-point field goals.
Eckerd will return to action during the Eckerd College Thanksgiving Classic this Friday and Saturday evenings. The Tritons play the Cowboys from the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Friday at 7:30 PM and the Claflin (S.C.) University Panthers on Saturday at the same time.
The University of Tampa will play at 5:30 PM both night against alternating opponents.
