Box Score
WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Eckerd College men's basketball program emerged victorious in the latest chapter of a restored rivalry on the road, handing Rollins College its first Sunshine State Conference loss of the season on Saturday, 74-70, in overtime.
Eckerd (8-4, 2-2 SSC) outscored the preseason league favorite Rollins (9-4, 2-1 SSC) 11-7 in the overtime session after threatening to run away early with a 12-0 start to the game.
But the Tritons and Tars battled to knotted scores of 28-28 and 63-63 at the end of the first half and regulation, setting the stage for the extra period.
Junior guard
Woody Taylor picked Jeff Dirkin's pocket for a turnover and layup with 12 seconds left to ice the game and cap a frenzied finish in the overtime session.
“Coming off a tough loss on Wednesday (at Florida Southern College), I was proud of how we stuck together as a team and played hard for 45 minutes,” said EC Head Coach
Tom Ryan, who picked up his 294th career win today. “The bench was giving us great energy all night.”
“On defense, we were doing what we were supposed to do,” he added. “Early on, we were getting to the right places and making plays and that helped us get off to a good start.”
The Tritons couldn't have envisioned a quicker start, holding their opponent scoreless for the first 4:40 while distribution was spread out evenly in the 12-0 run.
Alex Bodney got things going with a jumper and closed the run with a three.
Lance Kearse flushed down a dunk,
Walade Wade followed up his own miss with a putback shot and
Darrien Mack cashed in on fastbreak layup.
Mack finished with a double-double, netting a team-high 15 points and pulled in 10 rebounds. Bodney added 14 while making four shots from long range; Taylor contributed 10 on 4-of-5 shooting while dishing out six assists and Kearse scored 12.
Rollins closed the gap in a hurry after its sluggish start, assembling a 10-2 run in the final 5:23 before halftime to make it a tie game for the first time.
Out of the break, Taylor,
Drew Fenstermaker and Bodney converted consecutive threes and a jumper by Kearse had the Tritons out in front by six with 8:22 left in regulation.
The second half would feature nine ties and a combined 12 lead changes.
In overtime, the Tritons scored the first five points thanks to a trey from Taylor and slam dunk by
Wayne Sears Jr. Malcolm Brunner Jr. stymied Rollins' first offensive possession with a blocked shot and EC never relinquished the lead.
The Tritons and Tars met three times during the 2010-11 campaign, including a thrilling conclusion in the SSC Championship game during postseason play.
Unfortunately, all three affairs went in favor of Rollins.
“With Rollins knocking us out last year, it was nice to get a win here (in Warden Arena),” Ryan said.
The Tritons return home to the McArthur Center next Wednesday to play host to the University of Tampa. The game is scheduled for a start at 7:30 p.m. following the women's contest.
