Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. – Senior forward
Darrien Mack scored 24 points and pulled in 16 rebounds, but a three-point barrage early in the second half helped lift Florida Southern College over the Eckerd College men's basketball program on Wednesday night, 92-83.
Senior guard
Woody Taylor added 13 points and dished out five assists, junior guard
Alex Bodney scored 14 and junior forward
Junior McLeod scored eight of his 10 in the first half.
Earning Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week billing for two consecutive weeks, Mack was 8-of-14 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, surpassing his already impressive season scoring and rebounding averages.
Seth Evans led Florida Southern with 17, Brett Bailey and Kevin Capers each added 15 and Dominic Lane scored 12. Bailey also had 11 rebounds, five on the offensive glass, to finish with a double-double.
The Tritons (8-4, 2-3 SSC) were looking for their third straight win in the Sunshine State Conference, coming off of victories against Florida Tech and No. 20 University of Tampa, respectively.
Eckerd kept the home crowd quiet in the first half and took a lead into halftime after back-to-back layups from McLeod snapped a 28-28 deadlock with five minutes to the break.
But the Mocs (11-2, 4-1 SSC) riddled the nets with four three-point field goals in a three-minute span as part of a 13-4 run to open the second half, including two by Evans.
Florida Southern started out 8-for-12 from deep before misfiring on their final five consecutive attempts.
After being outrebounded 24-11 in the first half, the Mocs hit the boards hard in the final frame, getting 15 second-chance points in the second half.
Bodney hit a three of his own to slow down the run and restore another tie at 52-52, the game's fourth at that point, but Evans launched another triple two possessions later to help solidify a permanent lead for Florida Southern.
Bodney helped bottle up Evans in the first half, holding FSC's leading scorer to just four points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Quick hands by Capers in the passing lane resulted in a steal and two-handed flush with just over two minutes remaining as the Mocs led by as many 17.
Mirroring his perfect start at Florida Tech, Taylor began the game 4-for-4 from the field and was perfect on his two tries beyond the arc extending into the second half. He pushed the tempo early, getting a pair of layups in transition to set the tone for the high-scoring affair.
Freshmen
Jerrick Stevenson (seven points) and
E.J. Moody (three points) returned to their hometowns to play in front of family and friends after completing their prep careers at nearby George Jenkins and Lakeland high schools.
EC led by as many as eight after beginning the night on a 16-8 run in the first nine minutes of action.
Next in the conference schedule, the Tritons will host Barry University on Saturday in the McArthur Center with a 4 p.m. scheduled tip-off.
