No. 10 Bucs End Eckerd's Streak in Double Overtime

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It's not often that a team never takes the lead in regulation and still has a chance to win.

On Saturday, the Eckerd men's basketball team had that chance but was unable to capitalize, falling to No. 10 Barry in double-overtime, 97-95, in a top-25 battle for first place in the Sunshine State Conference.

"It was a great college basketball game today," said EC head coach Tom Ryan.  "Our slow start put us in a tough spot against a very good team.  I'm proud of the effort our guys gave coming back from the early deficit."

The No. 21 Tritons (11-3, 4-2 SSC) took their only lead of the game at the 2:17 mark in the first overtime period.  Barry retook the lead on its next possession after Arie Williams ran down the rebound of his own missed 3-pointer and made good on his next attempt.

Drushaun McLaurn had a chance to give Eckerd the lead again after getting fouled while making a basket with 36 seconds left, but missed the ensuing free throw and the game went into another overtime period.

A blazing start by the Buccaneers (12-1, 6-1 SSC) helped the visitors build a 15-point lead in the first half.  Barry drained its first six 3-point attempts in opening the game on an 18-4 run.

That start helped the Bucs maintain the lead for 39 minutes before Eckerd finally tied the game on a basket by McLaurn with 54 seconds remaining, capping a 14-2 run.

The Tritons then forced a miss by Elvar Fridriksson, and Trevon Young's rebound gave them a chance to win in regulation.  McLaurn was isolated at the top of the key and drove past his defender to the basket, but missed his game-winning attempt at the buzzer.

Fridriksson misfired again as Barry played for the last shot in the first overtime period, but the guard finally came up with the game's biggest basket five minutes later.

After Young tied the game at 95-95 with his hook shot in the paint with 24 seconds left, the Bucs had another opportunity to hold the ball for the last shot. Arie Williams badly missed an off-balance attempt, and Sawyer Glick was off the mark on two rushed follow-up opportunities before Fridriksson put himself in the right place at the right time.

The junior tipped in Glick's second miss with two seconds left, and the Tritons couldn't take an attempt to answer before the final buzzer sounded.

The Bucs blistered the nets from behind the arc for much of the game, making 15 of their first 25 attempts before finishing the game with 19 triples, the second-most in a game in program history.  However, the Tritons defended well inside the arc as Barry shot just 40 percent from the field in the game.

Eckerd countered with an interior attack, getting 44 points in the paint. McLaurn scored a game-high 29 points, nearly matching his career high from three days ago, while Young netted 21 points.  The duo combined to shoot 51 percent from the field.

McLaurn also posted his second double-double of the week, grabbing 11 rebounds for the second straight game.  Keshawn Ingram added 11 points off the bench while Obi Kyei led the team with 12 rebounds.

The game marked the second time in the last three seasons in which the Tritons and the Bucs went to double-overtime in the McArthur Center.  Barry also edged EC in 2015, 111-108, after 10 additional minutes.

Eckerd drops into third place in the SSC standings following the loss, one game behind the University of Tampa which will pay a visit to the McArthur Center on Wednesday, January 11.