Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. -
John Harper led with 16 points as the Eckerd Tritons (6-5, 0-2 SSC) nearly upset the nationally-second ranked Florida Southern Moccasins (13-0, 3-0 SSC), falling by a score of 70-65 on Wednesday night at Jenkins Fieldhouse.
Eckerd found themselves ahead 13-10 to start the game, following a alley-oop thrown by
Lewis Lampley and converted by
Lance Kearse on an inbound play. Eckerd would later make it 16-12 on a three by
John Harper but Southern would answer with a 8-0 run en route to a 24-18 lead with 2:34 to play.
Eckerd would tie the game at 24-24 with 35 seconds left with the help of four free throws on four tries but FSC's Rion Rayfield would regain the lead the Mocs with a bucket 17 seconds left.
In the half, neither team shot the ball well as Eckerd and Southern shot 26.9 and 33.3 percent from the field, respectively. Eckerd out-rebounded the Mocs 24-17 in the half.
In the second half, the Tritons took a 34-30 lead after a pair of layups by Lampley but Southern would go on a 19-3 run, capped by a jumper by Andre Hawkins, to take a 49-37 lead with 9:58 to go. Eckerd would close the gap to 62-55 after a layup by
Zaronn Cann with 3:58 left and would press on to shrink its deficit to 64-61 on a layup by
Nick Agress with 1:37 to go.
In the final minute, a pair of made free throws by
Wayne Sears drew the Tritons even closer at 66-63 with 57 seconds left. After FSC's John Thompson made it 68-63, Harper hit a jumper to make it a three-point game again, 68-65.
Rayfield was sent to the line and uncharacteristically missed both free throws, setting up Eckerd for a chance to tie the game on a three taken by Kearse. Unfortunately for Eckerd, the shot fell short and was rebounded by the Mocs with just 1.1 seconds left. Thompson sealed the victory by connecting on both of the ensuing free throws.
For the game, Eckerd shot just 35.7 percent from the field while Southern connected at a 42.6 percent clip. The Tritons out-rebounded the Mocs 42-35 while holding a 13-11 turnover advantage.
Cann and Sears each scored 11 points for the Tritons while Lampley added nine points, nine rebounds and four assists. Rayfield led Southern with 20 points and eight assists.
Eckerd will return to action on Saturday, January 9 as it travels to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to face Nova Southeastern at 4pm at the University Center.
