Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – With the intensity level maxed out in yet another storied Sunshine State Conference rivalry, the Eckerd College men's basketball program rose to the occasion in front of a packed house against the University of Tampa on Wednesday night, 80-64.
The last time Tampa appeared in the McArthur Center, Spartans' Head Coach Richard Schmidt earned his 600th career win vs. Puerto Rico-Bayamon at the Eckerd Classic.
This time, however, the Tritons did their best to make this visit for the Spartans (4-10, 0-5 SSC) a little less memorable.
Lance Kearse tallied a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds,
Wayne Sears Jr. scored 19 on 7-of-11 shooting and
Darrien Mack added 12 on 5-of-7 shooting.
Josh Snodgrass netted 11 with a strong second half in the absence of starting guard
Alex Bodney, who exited early with an undisclosed injury.
Eckerd shot 80 percent from the free throw line (24-of-30) and connected at a 47.3 percent clip from the field in the game. The Tritons (9-4, 3-2 SSC) have now won four of their last five.
Eckerd broke open a 15-15 tie with a 9-2 run to gain separation in the first half, capped by a three-point basket by Sears Jr.
Sears Jr. excelled at the rim from the outset, racing to the bucket for an easy lay-in after the tip-off. He would finish the first half with 14 points and flushed down a two-handed slam dunk for a 65-47 lead later in the second period.
Sears Jr. also helped trump the hot start by Tampa's Ashton Graham, who hit a flurry of jumpers in the early stages.
Kearse swatted away a Graham reverse layup attempt before
Drew Fenstermaker made the Spartans pay with a three in transition at the 7:27 mark in the first half that kept EC in front, 27-20.
Graham finished with 27 points to lead the Spartans.
Eckerd then held Tampa scoreless for close to the final three minutes of the first half to go into the locker room with a 13-point cushion.
Snodgrass sliced through the Spartans' defense for back-to-back assists on beautiful drives in the second half. He set up a
Woody Taylor three from the corner and then handed off to
Walade Wade for an open layup.
Snodgrass then made a high-arcing three with just over four minutes in regulation for an 18-point edge.
Kearse did nearly half of his damage at the free-throw line, draining 10-of-12 tries in addition to making six field goals. He was relentless in the paint, corralling five offensive rebounds and muscling through contact to convert most of his shots.
The Tritons are on the road this weekend for a non-conference showdown against Palm Beach Atlantic at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
