Box Score
Box Score
CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Eckerd College men's basketball team dropped its second game of the young season to tournament host Delta State (Miss.) University in a rugged overtime battle at the Down in the Delta Challenge
on Sunday, 79-73.
Both the Tritons (0-2, 0-0 SSC) and Statesmen (1-1, 0-0 GSC) were chosen to finish sixth in the preseason polls of their respective conferences.
Gulf South Conference-associated Delta State opened the tournament with a loss against No. 9 Florida Southern College while Eckerd was looking to bounce back from a season-opening setback against the University of Arkansas-Monticello
on Saturday.
Foul trouble became an issue for Eckerd once again, as two starters collected their fifth fouls during the overtime period and Delta State managed to convert 35-of-44 attempts from the free-throw line.
Eckerd led by a 10-point margin, 26-16, with nearly
4:30 remaining in the first half, but a 9-0 run from the Statesmen brought Delta State back within reach right before the break.
The Tritons carried a 28-26 lead into halftime thanks to a dunk in the closing moments from sophomore and reigning SSC Freshman of the Year
Jerrick Stevenson following the steal from sophomore
Kendall Roberts.
The Eckerd defense clamped down to hold the Statesmen to just 26 percent (6-for-25) shooting in the first half.
Eckerd led by a margin of 13 -- its largest lead of the game -- with just over 15 minutes remaining in the second half, but the Statesmen would tie at 48-48 at the
9:50 mark courtesy of a run featuring a number of free throws and three treys.
Senior
Alex Bodney gave Eckerd a one-point lead following an "and-one" opportunity on his jumper with 23 seconds left, but missed the back end as the Statesmen corralled the rebound and drew a foul.
Out of a timeout, DSU's Willie Readus knocked one free throw down with 12 seconds left to tie again at 65-65. The Tritons had the final possession in an attempt to end it in regulation, but overtime ensued.
Devin Schmidt opened up the scoring in overtime with a layup to give Delta State a 67-65 lead and the Statesmen sealed the win with additional free throws in the final seconds.
Schmidt paced five Statesmen in double figures with 18 points while Readus netted 17 (9-of-10 FT), Jack Madgen pocketed 15 and reserves Alister Chisholm and Michael Weems each contributed 10.
Bodney led the Tritons in scoring with 18 points (10-of-12 FT), while Stevenson totaled 16 points on the night and sophomore
Ray Darnell finished with a career-high 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Tritons will play their first home game in the McArthur Center
on Saturday against American International (Mass.) College at
7:30 p.m. EST following the volleyball program's final home contest vs. Florida Tech.
