Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Senior forward
Darrien Mack converted a fadeaway jumper inside the lane with 37 seconds left and the Eckerd College men's basketball program finished off a barnburner at Florida Tech by flexing its defensive muscle down the stretch on Saturday, 80-76.
After Mack's go-ahead basket, sophomore
Malcolm Brunner Jr. rejected a tying layup attempt on the other end and freshman
Jerrick Stevenson made two free throws with 11 seconds left.
To make the storyline more compelling, FIT's Jermaine Jackson made a layup and was fouled with three seconds left. Needing to miss the free throw to have a chance to tie, Jackson didn't draw rim on the intentional try, resulting in a violation.
The Tritons (8-3, 2-2 SSC) drew to an even .500 in the rugged Sunshine State Conference, coming off a home victory on Wednesday against No. 20 University of Tampa.
Mack, the current Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, strengthened his bid for another selection after going 11-of-12 from the free throw line as part of his 21 points and six steals.
He was joined in a balanced team scoring effort by four others in double figures, including
Woody Taylor (14), Stevenson (13),
Alex Bodney (12) and
Josh Snodgrass (10).
The Panthers (6-6, 0-3 SSC), keyed by 17 points, 11 assists and six steals by Julius Reid, remain in search of their first win in league play. Leading scorer Chris Carter netted 16 and David Usic finished with 10.
The game featured eight ties and five lead changes. EC led by as many as seven in the first half and clawed back from a nine-point deficit in the second half.
Reid came into today as the nation's leader in steals per game (regardless of competition level), averaging 4.5 per contest. By the end of the first half, he had already racked up six thefts.
Trailing by five at the break, the Tritons opened the second half on a 5-0 run capped by a Taylor three on the wing trailing on the break that knotted things up at 39-39.
Taylor started out a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, knocking down a pair of threes and both of his free throw attempts. He also finished with six assists/four steals and helped hound his point guard counterpart Reid into seven turnovers.
The Panthers countered with a 9-2 run to go up by seven again and led by as many as nine before the Tritons came back again. Reid's three with 13:57 remaining in regulation put the home team up, 57-48.
Continuing the back-and-forth trend, Taylor put EC back on top with 9:19 remaining on a layup before Carter answered with another go-ahead basket on the following possession.
Another Jackson three put the Panthers up by seven with under five minutes to go, but the Tritons dug in their heels and got back to work on the defensive end.
Stevenson nailed another long three to make it 74-72 and following a nifty behind-the-back pass off of a steal, Mack earned a game-tying free throw line trip with 1:11 left.
The Tritons will look to continue their SSC momentum on the road next week matched up against a strong Florida Southern College squad on Wednesday in Lakeland. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. or following the women's contest.
