Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Even late on a Wednesday night, the bank was still open.
At critical junctures, guard combo
Wayne Sears Jr. and
Woody Taylor each made shots off glass to cash in on key three-point field goals, and the Eckerd Tritons men's basketball program clipped Saint Leo University, 56-55.
Sears Jr. sprinted up court to beat the first-half buzzer with a contested heave at the top of the key and Taylor put the Tritons ahead in the latter stages with a similar shot in the same location at the other end of the court.
The Tritons (11-4, 4-2 SSC) fended off a pair of go-ahead three pointers from the Lions' Trent Thomas inside four minutes in regulation. Saint Leo (8-8, 2-4 SSC) had a chance to win, but a desperation heave from guard Marcus Ruh was well short as he fired off balance from the right wing.
Eckerd, now winners of five of its last six, was led in the scoring column with 14 points from senior forward
Lance Kearse.
Baskets came at a premium in the early going as both teams bruised their way to multiple charging calls and struggled to find an offensive rhythm. A three pointer by Taylor, his first of the game, tied the game at 11-11 with 7:54 left in the first half.
Saint Leo tied the game for the fourth time with 3:48 before the break, but Sears Jr.'s high-arcing three to beat the horn gave EC the momentum with a 27-21 lead.
The six-point halftime edge disappeared for the Tritons following a 6-0 run by Saint Leo to begin the second half. The Tritons broke the tie with a 7-0 run of their own, but the Lions lingered in striking distance, trailing by single digits until late.
Thomas completed the Lions rally by sticking a three from the right wing, but coughed up the ball on SLU's next possession as Sears Jr. raced to the bucket for a layup.
After Taylor's bankshot three put Eckerd ahead again by two, Thomas drilled another long shot under duress with 1:25 remaining.
Kearse countered just 21 seconds later, fighting his way through traffic to muscle up a layup plus the contact and converted his free throw.
But Saint Leo's Shaun Adams was fouled with 41 ticks on the clock and went to the charity stripe with a chance to tie. He missed the back end of his two tries and the Tritons exhausted precious time on the game clock as Saint Leo refused to foul.
The Lions' defense forced Eckerd into a tough look with the shot clock expiring and Ruh raced up the sideline with time to spare.
Darrien Mack flushed down a powerful one-handed slam dunk as part of his 10 points, while
Walade Wade crashed the glass for a game-high 10 rebounds. Sears Jr. and
Josh Snodgrass each ended up with nine.
The Tritons are back in action this weekend on the road at Barry University, facing the Buccaneers in Miami Shores for a 4 p.m. scheduled tip-off on Saturday.
