Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Freshman forward
Darrien Mack scored on a put back with one second left to force overtime in what was a thrilling, 82-77 victory for the Eckerd Tritons (14-8, 7-5 SSC) over the Florida Tech Panthers (13-10, 3-9 SSC) on Saturday at Tech's Clemente Center.
In the first half, the Tritons responded from a three-pointer by Tech's Justin Sedlak by out-scoring Florida Tech the rest of the half, 21-11, to go into halftime ahead 31-23.
In a wild second half, a fastbreak layup by
John Harper gave the Tritons their largest lead of the game at 35-25 with 17:59 to go. The Panthers, however, would chip away at Eckerd's lead, out-scoring them 23-13 to tie the game at 48-48 with 8:22 left.
After a Sedlak free throw tied the game at 62-62 with 1:46 to go, the Panthers took and expanded a lead up to 66-63 with 33 ticks left. Later, a pair of free throws by
Lewis Lampley trimmed Tech's lead to 68-67 with 12 seconds left.
On ensuing possession, the Panthers' Simon Cummings, who led all scorers with 31 points, went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, setting up Eckerd's game-tying shot. On the next possession,
Zaronn Cann missed a layup with two seconds to go but Mack came to the rescue, picking up the loose change and depositing in the basket to tie the game with one second left.
Eckerd actually had a chance to win the game in regulation as the Panthers' turned the ball over with one second left, setting up Harper for a chance at a buzzer-beating three.
In overtime, Cummings converted a conventional three-point play to put the Panthers ahead 74-72 with 2:57 to go. Eckerd, however, would seal the victory with a pair of made free throws by Cann, a three ball by
Woody Taylor and four more foul shots within the final 17 seconds of the overtime period.
For the game, Eckerd out-shot Tech, 53.2 to 37.5 percent, while out-rebounding the Panther 34-27. Eckerd also went 29-for-36 from the charity stripe.
Cann led the Tritons with 22 points and 10 boards while Harper added 13 points. Sedlak scored 19 points to add to the Panthers' offense.
Eckerd will return to action on Wednesday, February 17 as it travels to Tampa, Fla. to face the Tampa Spartans at 7:30pm at the Martinez Center.
