Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd men's basketball team (13-8, 6-5 SSC) hit the hardwood tonight in an intense Sunshine State Conference battle with 16th-ranked Florida Southern College (20-3, 9-3 SSC) at the McArthur Center. With the game going into overtime, it was the Moccasins who were victorious, 78-74, after being behind the Tritons throughout the game.
The Tritons dominated the first half, being in the lead for the entire 20 minutes, with the biggest lead of the night being 10 points, which happened three times throughout the half. The closest the Mocs got to a lead was just six minutes into the half, with the Tritons being in the lead by one. Eckerd was flawless at the free throw line, going 10-for-10., while Florida Southern was 50 percent.
The second half of the game was as intense. The Eckerd fans were brought to their feet when 6'10” junior Dale Carn leaped into the air to block Rion Rayfield's three-point shot, which was rebounded by Woody Taylor, who passed it over to Wayne Sears, who was open for the layup to bring the score to 54-45, Tritons leading at the 7:07 mark.
Florida Southern fought hard to steal the lead away from the Tritons. Florida Southern's Rayfield hit a three-pointer with 47 seconds left of the game, which trimmed Eckerd's lead to 64-63. After Zaronn Cann's dunk with 36 seconds left to give the Tritons a three-point lead, Rayfield had the opportunity to bring the Mocs to a tie score, after making three free throws to make the score 66-66, which eventually brought the game to overtime.
Florida Southern jumped out first in over time, with Brandon Jenkins sinking in a three-pointer in the first minute of play. The lead was shortened by Chris Gray, when he made two free throws to make the score 69-68. However, the one point lead was short lived when FSC's John Thompson hit a lay up to make the score 71-68. With 20 seconds left in overtime and the Tritons with the ball, Gray hit an three-pointer to bring the score to 73-71. Eckerd made many attempts to take the lead, but it was Florida Southern who were victorious at the end, with a score of 78-74.
Gray led the offense for the Tritons, picking up 13 points. John Harper and Cann tied the night with 10 a piece, with Cann also having eight rebounds.
Eckerd will be back in action Saturday, February 13th, as they travel to Melbourne to take on Florida Tech. Tip off is at 4 pm.
