Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Sophomore guard
Alex Bodney drained four three-pointers on his way to a career-high 20 points, but the Eckerd College men's basketball program fell short on the road in its Sunshine State Conference opener against Florida Tech on Saturday, 72-82.
Bodney, a Freshman All-SSC pick a year ago, eclipsed his previous scoring high of 13 totaled against Palm Beach Atlantic University (2/26/11). He was 5-of-11 from the field and was perfect at the free-throw line, going 6-for-6.
Darrien Mack boosted his already impressive field goal percentage with a 6-for-8 effort to go with 13 points.
Lance Kearse scored 11 and
Walade Wade was just a point and rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with nine in each respective category.
Led by 23 points from Simon Cummings, the Panthers (6-1, 1-0 SSC) scored 30 points off 16 EC turnovers and led wire-to-wire against the Tritons (3-2, 0-1 SSC) in the Clemente Center.
Cummings connected on back-to-back threes in a game-opening 11-4 run for Florida Tech within the first four minutes. He then hit another jumper and another longball as the Panthers pushed their lead to 20-6 at the 13:51 mark in the first half.
Each time the Tritons seemed to be gaining ground, the Panthers had an answer.
A
Marko Filipovic tip-in that trimmed the lead to 11 was countered by trifectas on back-to-back Florida Tech possessions from DeMario Robinson and Edgars Eglitis. Cummings scored on the Panthers' final possession of the first half for another double-digit lead.
A buzzer-beating three by Bodney at the end of the half cut the deficit to eight as Florida Tech held a 39-31 edge.
Wayne Sears Jr. had the Tritons within just two after a dunk early in the second half, but Florida Tech pushed ahead again after a 9-0 run that made the score 52-41 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
The Tritons were held to just one field goal in a near eight-minute span before a Mack slam on the fast break ended the scoring drought.
Florida Tech maintained its double-digit advantage until the final buzzer as Cummings hit six consecutive free throws inside the three-minute mark.
The Tritons controlled the glass to the tune of a 39-28 edge in the rebounding department.
Eckerd has a week of rest before returning to the McArthur Center to continue league play against Nova Southeastern University next Saturday. The Tritons will square off against the Sharks for a scheduled 4 p.m. tip-off.
