Box Score
MONTEVALLO, Ala. - In his first start of the season,
Wayne Sears scored 16 points as the Eckerd Tritons (5-1) held off a furious comeback by the West Alabama Tigers (5-2) to win 77-75 on Saturday evening on day two of the Coca-Cola Classic at the University of Montevallo's BankTrust Arena.
After UWA's Brian Murphy connected on a layup with 12:00 to go to make it 15-14 in favor of the Tritons, Eckerd would go on a 21-2 run, which included a dunk by Sears and was capped by a three by
John Harper. The Tritons' ambush of the Tigers enabled them to coast to a 42-27 halftime lead.
The second half was not as easy, however, as West Alabama started the half on a 16-6 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Brendan Hampton, to make it a 48-43 game with 13:40 to go. A jumper by
Dale Carn increased Eckerd's lead to 65-50 with 8:20 left to play but a three-pointer by Richard Sirju sparked UWA on a stretch that saw the Tigers out-score the Tritons 32-27 over the next 8:14, allowing Sirju to tie the game at 75-75 on a trifecta with 13 seconds to go.
On the next possession, however,
Chris Gray went to the charity stripe and calmly connected on a pair of free throws, icing the 77-75 win. Sirju, who scored 33 points in the game, took one last shot at the buzzer but failed to send the game into overtime.
For the game, Eckerd out-shot West Alabama 51.7 percent to 44.7 percent while out-rebounding the Tigers, 34-29. The Tritons, who committed 23 turnovers the night before, committed just 10 on Saturday while forcing 14 UWA turnovers.
Zaronn Cann added 13 points while #Walade Wade,# who also made his first start of the year, registered his first career double-double, scoring 12 points while grabbing 10 boards. Jason Swanson also produced a double-double for the Tigers with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Eckerd will return to action on Tuesday, November 15 as it hosts Saint Augustine's at 7:30pm at the McArthur Center.
