Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. – Junior guard
Alex Bodney scored seven of his team-high 21 points in a rugged overtime session and the Eckerd College men's basketball program forged past the University of Tampa to complete the regular-season sweep on Wednesday night in the Martinez Center, 71-65.
Bodney hit the first field goal of overtime for either side and it was a big one, a three from the corner with 2:43 left on the clock to put his team up by two.
Soon after, he hit a pair of free throws to put the Tritons (14-6, 7-5 SSC) up by four and a
Jerrick Stevenson (13 points) shot from in close had EC ahead 65-60 inside the final minute of overtime.
Bodney connected on two more tries at the stripe with 37 seconds left as EC retained possession on a live ball stemming from a late technical foul.
Senior guard
Woody Taylor rolled home two more free throws with 21.8 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and put the final decision on ice.
Eckerd history was made as senior forward
Darrien Mack joined rare company as a member of the 1,000-point club in his career. Needing just 10 points coming into the game to reach the milestone, he hit the mark on a jumper at the 11:33 juncture in the second half.
Mack finished with 17 points and six rebounds, including a 9-of-11 effort at the free throw line. He became the 16th player in the program's history to score 1,000 or more points.
Led by 26 points by Anthony Griffis, the Spartans (16-8, 3-8 SSC) continued to exchange blows with the Tritons until the final buzzer.
Griffis scored 15 of his 26 in the first half and hit a number of shots winding down in regulation to keep his team in contention. Tampa overcame a five-point deficit in the final two minutes and change to help force the overtime.
Griffis connected on a long three with 27.5 seconds left in front of his bench to make it a 67-65 game in overtime while Da'Markco Foster hit the game-tying shot in regulation to force OT with 27.1 seconds left.
EC took its first lead with just over eight minutes left in regulation on a basket by Taylor. He made a great decision in transition on the next sequence, handing the ball off to
Walade Wade at full speed to put the Tritons up, 46-43.
Mack kept the momentum going with a three-point play and with EC up by six, Bodney sailed in with a beautiful drive to the rim, a sweeping layup with the left hand.
Bodney hit a high-arcing three from the corner with just four seconds on the shot clock to cap a key inbounds play after a deflected pass as EC enjoyed its largest lead up by eight with three minutes left.
But Tampa kept hanging around and Griffis hit a long three at the top of the key to close the gap to 56-54 with 53 seconds left.
The Tritons bounced back from a 14-point deficit that came right before the end of the first half. EC trailed by nine going into the break, 35-26.
Taylor's consecutive free throw streak of 38, including a perfect 30-for-30 mark coming into tonight, came to an unfortunate end. Bodney made 13-of-14 tries at the free throw line.
The Tritons will try and close out the regular-season series against Barry University with a win on Saturday in Miami Shores. EC and the Buccaneers will tip off at 7:30 p.m.
