Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – On Wednesday night, the Eckerd men's basketball team hosted the Embry-Riddle Eagles for the first time in history and the Tritons managed to avenge their earlier loss in Daytona Beach with a 60-52 victory inside the McArthur Center.
The contest was a defensive battle as both teams limited each other to well below their season averages. Eckerd (19-5) averages 78.5 points per game, but they were held to just 32.3 percent shooting despite shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. The Tritons made up for their offensive struggles with lockdown defense of their own, something that has been a large part of the team's success this season.
ERAU (12-9) entered the contest scoring 83.9 points per game, but EC's smothering defense limited the Eagles to 28.1 percent from the field, nearly 16 percent below their average. The first half was particularly good for Eckerd defensively, as the team held Embry-Riddle to 16 points and 17.7 percent shooting.
Eckerd's largest lead of the contest came with 5:44 to play at 55-40, but Embry-Riddle cut the difference to three points with 1:17 on the clock after a 3-pointer by Ognjen Miljkovic.
Drushaun McLaurn kept EC in front, though, pulling down a momentum-saving offensive rebound off of a
Jerrick Stevenson missed 3-pointer. McLaurn converted the putback to put the Tritons back up by five, and ERAU would be unable to get any closer.
Obi Kyei recorded a career-high 15 rebounds and added seven points.
Kevin Walsh led the Tritons in scoring as the lone player in double figure with 15. Walsh hit five of his 10 field goals, all of which came beyond the arc.
Marco Behori added a game-high three steals.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak, the only one EC has endured all season.
The Tritons return to action on Saturday, February 13 as they hit the road to visit the Lynn Fighting Knights with tipoff scheduled at 4:00 pm following the women's contest.
