ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It's still early in the season as the Eckerd College men's and women's basketball programs prepare to make their 2012-13 Sunshine State Conference debut in Winter Park on Saturday afternoon, facing league rival Rollins College on the road.
The Tritons will storm Warden Arena in the Alfond Sports Center against the Tars with the women tipping off at 2 p.m. followed by the men's matchup around 4 p.m.
Live stats and video/audio will be available on Rollins' athletic website, RollinsSports.com. Additional links have been posted under each sport-specific page on EckerdTritons.com.
The Eckerd women have already played five games and face their biggest test to date against the 13th-ranked Tars, who crashed the Elite Eight semifinals of the NCAA Championship last year before falling to Shaw (N.C.) University, eventual national champs.
Rollins (5-1, 0-0 SSC) began the season ranked fourth in the WBCA/USA Today Top-25 Coaches' Poll, but a 14-point loss against Tusculum (Ala.) University contributed to the current slide in the national rankings.
Despite the absence of WBCA Honorable Mention All-American Ashley Jones from the Rollins' lineup against Tusculum, the Tars have the full attention of Eckerd Head Coach
Paul Honsinger.
“Our girls always look forward to playing against a nationally-ranked team and we're eager for that challenge,” Honsinger said. “We should be going in there with confidence and historically, we've matched up and well and played up to the level that goes with our rivalry.”
Jones paces the Tars in scoring at 12 points per game while Sarah Blackburn is right around her average at 11.8. Sarah Taylor, the sister of Eckerd men's basketball senior point guard
Woody Taylor, is averaging eight points per contest while starting all six games.
The Tritons have been led by junior newcomer
Liga Vente, who has established herself in the post with averages of 15.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. EC had won three straight before being tipped by Ave Maria University this week.
The EC women last defeated Rollins on the road in the 2010-11 campaign, a 72-71 decision on Jan. 8.
The Eckerd men have two games under their belt in the young season, collecting a pair of victories at the EC Thanksgiving Classic against the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon and Clark Atlanta (Ga.) University.
After completing the regular-season sweep last year against Rollins, wins No. 44 and 45 for Eckerd in the all-time series, the Tritons will look to resume their recent head-to-head momentum after emerging in an overtime thriller last season in Winter Park.
The Tars (3-1, 0-0 SSC) have a few different pieces of the puzzle in their starting lineup this year, including a pair of University of Florida transfers in Adam Allen and Kyle McClanahan. Together, they account for nearly 20 points per game while Brett Chance leads the team with a 12.0 average.
“(Coach) Tom (Klusman) had a great recruiting class and brought in a lot of very talented transfers to with some talented returners,” EC Head Coach
Tom Ryan said. “In the last 10 years, they've had the most success than anybody in our league. It's going to take a tremendous defensive effort on our part and we'll have to overcome the pressure they put on you with their zones.”
Eckerd (2-0, 0-0 SSC) and Rollins both fared well against NCAA Division I opponents in the preseason, playing the University of South Florida and Wake Forest University, to close finals, respectively.
Through two games, the Tritons currently have four players averaging double figures, freshman
Jerrick Stevenson (12.5), sophomore
Malcolm Brunner Jr. (11.5), Taylor (11.5) and junior
Alex Bodney (10.5).
Stevenson is coming off a 21-point outburst against Clark Atlanta while Bodney and junior guard
Josh Snodgrass each scored 12 to lead Eckerd in its season debut against UPR-Bayamon.
