Eckerd-Florida Memorial Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Eckerd College senior guard John Harper scored a season-high 21 points to help the Tritons escape with an 89-83 win over visiting Florida Memorial on Tuesday at the McArthur Center.
Harper was 7-for-15 from the field and made five 3-pointers, as Eckerd (7-1) won their sixth straight.
Lance Kearse scored a career-high 19 points, while Quincy Okolie had a career-best 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Darrien Mack also continued his solid play with a 12-point, nine-rebound effort.
Okolie and Mack helped the Eckerd bench score 38 points.
George Gray led FMU (5-3) with 20 points.
Both teams were rolling offensively in the first half. The Tritons were 8-for-11 from 3-point range and shot 62 percent – helping the hosts grab as much as a 16-point lead.
But the Lions shot 56 percent and took advantage of 12 Eckerd turnovers to cut the deficit to 52-43 at halftime.
After Eckerd regained a double-figure lead in the opening minutes of the second half, FMU used a 6-0 spurt to cut the lead to 57-51 with 17:00 remaining.
The Tritons never got the lead above eight, and FMU cut the deficit to one on multiple occasions.
But Harper's 3-pointer with 1:39 left gave Eckerd an 83-78 lead, and the Tritons held on to get their second win of the season against FMU.
Eckerd will open up Sunshine State Conference play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Lynn. The game is part of a doubleheader with the women's squad, which will face Lynn at 5 p.m.
