Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Seniors
Lance Kearse and
Wayne Sears Jr. combined for 27 points in their final regular-season home appearance to lead four players in double-figures as the Eckerd College men's basketball program took care of business against Lynn University on Senior Day, 74-58.
Alex Bodney netted 11 and
Josh Snodgrass poured in a dozen in a reserve role as the Tritons (19-7, 11-5 SSC) completed the regular-season sweep against the Fighting Knights (13-15, 6-10 SSC).
“It was outstanding to win on Senior Night, during Family Weekend and the crowd atmosphere was great today,” EC Head Coach
Tom Ryan said. “For our guys, it was certainly a step in the right direction as we move into the postseason. I'm extremely proud of Wayne and Lance for their careers here and what they've done on and off the court.”
The Tritons locked up the second seed to host one of four quarterfinal matchups in the upcoming Sunshine State Conference Tournament beginning next Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 7:30 p.m. The final four quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 3, in Lakeland.
Eckerd would have been crowned the SSC regular-season champions with a Florida Tech loss, but the Panthers clinched the No. 1 seed and managed to defeat the University of Tampa on Saturday.
As a result, No. 2-seeded Eckerd draws No. 7 seed Barry University as its first-round opponent in the playoffs. The Buccaneers have been a thorn in the Tritons' side this season, beating EC in both respective matchups in St. Petersburg and Miami Shores.
“When it gets to conference tournament time, you have to be ready to play anybody at any time,” Ryan said. “They (Barry) have our number right now and we have to find a way to change that up.”
Eckerd shot a scintillating 65 percent (13-for-20) from the field in the second half to catalyze a 54.5 percent shooting effort in the game. The Tritons were also more than efficient at the charity stripe, connecting at an 80-percent clip, sinking 24-of-30 free-throw tries.
Lynn's Josh Garcia scored five consecutive points to tie the game at 21-21 with 7:44 left to play in the opening stanza. The Fighting Knights held a narrow lead for the first five minutes before a pair of free throws from Bodney put the Tritons up for the first time.
Walade Wade drew contact and made a three-point play with 1:11 before the break and Snodgrass gave the Tritons' a five-point edge at halftime.
“I thought we moved the ball better tonight and hopefully we can continue that,” Ryan said. “Lynn shot the ball better than what we'd like them to, but our offense was clicking.”
The second half was all Eckerd as the Tritons led wire-to-wire in the final period.
Snodgrass put the Tritons up by 10 for the first time after sinking a pair of free throws and a slam dunk from Kearse pushed the lead to 14 with 3:23 remaining in regulation.
The Tritons defense allowed just one field goal by Lynn in the final four minutes.
Stay tuned to
www.EckerdTritons.com for additional postseason information pertaining to the SSC Tournament. The EC/Barry game will get underway following the women's No. 4/5 seed matchup against Nova Southeastern University ticketed for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
