Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Leading by as much as a 22-point margin, the Eckerd College men's basketball program made a statement and slowed down one of the nation's most explosive offenses in No. 6 Florida Southern College on Wednesday night, 85-75.
FSC's run-and-gun scoring offense, ranked sixth in the nation (87 ppg), was contained to 12 points below its season average.
The Mocs (19-4, 10-3 SSC) labored with 29.4 percent shooting from the first half before catching stride to make a late push in regulation.
The Tritons (16-6, 9-5 SSC) made 60 percent of their first-half field goal attempts to carry a 15-point lead at halftime.
With only three games left on the regular-season ledger, the Tritons strengthened their candidacy for national postseason play by taking down the South Region's top-ranked team in the event the automatic bid is not cashed in at the Sunshine State Conference Championship in Kissimmee.
Released earlier today, the Tritons are currently sixth in the first edition of the South Region rankings.
EC senior forward
Darrien Mack was dialed in with an efficient outing that featured 27 points and 14 rebounds while shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He crashed the offensive glass for five second-chance boards and also collected four steals on the defensive end.
Mack also moved into 15th all-time among career scoring leaders in the program's history, moving past Vic Stephens (1987-1992) with 1,064 points to date. He now has his sights set on
Wayne Sears Jr. (2008-2012), who totaled 1,072 points in his accomplished four-year EC tenure.
Junior guard
Alex Bodney was perfect at the charity stripe with an 8-for-8 effort to complement his trio of three-point field goals as he finished with 17 points
Freshman guard
Jerrick Stevenson scored 16 points, senior forward
Walade Wade provided nine on 4-of-5 shooting and senior guard
Woody Taylor dished out nine assists to go with seven points.
Protecting a 15-14 in the first half, the Tritons engineered a 19-4 run to seize control in a six-minute span that translated into a 16-point lead.
EC led by as many as 19 in the opening frame following a free throw by Bodney and a layup by freshman
E.J. Moody on separate possessions before halftime.
Out of the locker room, a steal and layup by Taylor gave EC its biggest lead, 51-29, with 16:54 remaining in the game.
The Mocs rode the coattails of sharpshooter Seth Evans and clawed their way back on the strength of an 11-0 run that cut the deficit to just six midway through the second half. Evans scored 18 of his team-high 20 points from beyond the arc.
Breathing room grew slimmer for EC after FSC's Cameron Vines dunked to make it 68-65 with just under four minutes to play.
But as the Mocs tried to slow the pace of the game down inside the final minute, Bodney and Mack combined to sink eight consecutive free throws as FSC missed its final three shots and committed a turnover.
EC successfully avenged a defeat in the first round of conference play in Lakeland at the Jenkins Field House.
The Tritons will briefly step out of the SSC schedule on Saturday, hosting Palm Beach Atlantic University for the second matchup of the 2012-13 campaign. EC and the Sailfish are set to tip off at 4 p.m. in the McArthur Center.
