McLaurn's Career Night Helps No. 21 Tritons Win 10th Straight

Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Drushaun McLaurn scored a career-high 30 points as the No. 21 Eckerd men's basketball team withstood a late rally by Palm Beach Atlantic, holding on for an 83-74 win over the Sailfish to open 2017.

A 14-0 run to start the second half turned out to be vital.  Despite Eckerd twice opening a 28-point lead, the second time with 15:11 left to play, the Sailfish began chipping away and used trapping pressure to force the Tritons into turnovers including seven in the final seven minutes.

"We played very good defense for most of the game," said EC head coach Tom Ryan.  "We didn't handle their pressure late in the game and they were able to score in transition."

The game was tight for much of the first half until back-to-back 3-pointers by Kevin Walsh helped Eckerd (11-2, 4-1 SSC) build a bit of a cushion at 31-19 with 7:31 left in the half.  Another Walsh triple followed by a 3-pointer by Keshawn Ingram extended the EC lead to 18 points before PBA pulled back within 14 at the half at 45-31.

The Tritons then started the second half with a flourish, scoring on six of their first eight possessions and doubling their halftime lead in a span of under four minutes.

"We were sharing the ball very well during that stretch," Ryan said.  "Everything was clicking for us on both ends of the floor."

Palm Beach Atlantic (7-6, 3-3 SSC), however, used an 8-0 run and a 10-2 run to trim the Eckerd lead down to 13 points with 5:32 remaining as the Tritons struggled with turnovers and missed shots.

Another PBA run pulled the Sailfish within six points at the 1:15 mark, and the Sailfish forced another Eckerd turnover to gain a chance at making the contest a one-possession game.  The Tritons, however, got the stop they desperately needed, and Obi Kyei was fouled after grabbing the rebound of a Shavanno Cooper miss.

Kyei made 1-of-2 from the free throw line and after another Sailfish miss, McLaurn tipped in a rebound in transition to put EC back ahead by 10 points with 45 seconds left, effectively ending PBA's hope of a comeback.

The win was the 10th in a row for Eckerd, marking the third time in the last seven seasons in which the program has won at least 10 straight contests.

McLaurn had a monster night, making 14-of-19 shots from the floor and pulling in 11 rebounds to accompany his career-best 30 points.  Walsh added 20 points, knocking down five 3-pointers as he tied John Harper (2006-11) for third place in the program's record books for career 3's made with 183.  Kyei led the team on the boards with 12 season-high rebounds.

The Tritons face an important test on Saturday, hosting No. 10 Barry University at 4:00 PM in a battle for first place in the SSC.  The Bucs are ranked No. 10 in both the D2SIDA and the NABC polls.