ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Thanks to relentless and tenacious defense, the Eckerd College men's basketball team took its first game of the Thanksgiving Classic against the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Friday night, 71-49.
With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Eckerd (3-2, 0-0 SSC) trailed UPR-Bayamon, 27-24.
But a layup plus the foul shot from sophomore guard
Kendall Roberts brought the Tritons to within one, and a Vaqueros' foul sent him to the line to trigger what would become an 18-2 run extending into the second half.
Eckerd ended the first half on a 8-0 run, highlighted by a buzzer-beating three launched by sophomore guard
E.J. Moody, and would continue momentum into the second half as it went on to score 17 unanswered points and take a 41-27 lead.
As the second half wore on, Eckerd led by as much as 30 at varying points, allowing EC Head Coach
Tom Ryan to enter some of the team's reserves for valuable late contributions.
Eckerd's defense was an unstoppable force as the Vaqueros went only 6-for-23 in the final 20 minutes and shot just 37 percent from the field on the night.
Junior
Malcolm Brunner Jr. headed the Tritons' offense with 19 points and he added eight rebounds.
Moody (11),
Jerrick Stevenson (10) and
Ray Darnell (10) rounded out the top offensive performances, each scoring in double digits. Darnell also posted his first double-double of the season with 10 boards.
Eckerd will close out play at the Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow evening as it takes on Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) University at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Pirates were downed by the University of Tampa earlier in tournament action.
