Box Score
SAINT LEO, Fla. – Undeterred by their opponent's No. 11 national ranking, the fact it was Senior Night, “Whiteout” Night and the regular-season finale in the Bowman Center, the Eckerd College men's basketball program took down Saint Leo University in front of a packed house on Wednesday night, 69-68.
The stars were aligned for the Lions (20-6, 12-4 SSC) to send their seniors off in style with the outright Sunshine State Conference regular-season title hanging in the balance, but the Tritons (18-6, 10-5 SSC) had other ideas.
Senior forward
Darrien Mack scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, freshman
Jerrick Stevenson added 15 points and seven rebounds and senior guard
Woody Taylor chipped in a dozen to help lead the way.
Eckerd extended its current win streak to five (like the women's squad) and added another nationally-ranked triumph to its postseason resumé along with No. 6 Florida Southern College (Feb. 20) and No. 20 University of Tampa (Jan. 9).
The Tritons also strengthened their case for a bump in the South Region rankings, which currently has Eckerd at No. 6 in the first edition.
The game was entertainingly close all night -- so close that a Saint Leo Jerrel Harris three to beat the buzzer in regulation was just one point away from pushing the game into overtime for the second time this season.
With the one-point margin of EC victory in the books, half of Saint Leo's SSC losses this year came against Eckerd as the Tritons completed the regular-season series sweep.
The Tritons pounded the Lions on the glass to the tune of a 36-19 edge and was sparked early by five boards from senior
Walade Wade in his first seven minutes on the court. Even more impressive was the 15 offensive rebounds collected by the team that helped contribute to 12 second-chance points.
Wade was part of the second-half flurry of deadly three-point shooting showcased by the EC offense, which included a 5-of-7 effort from downtown. Taylor was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and Stevenson's inside-outside game was complemented with a pair of triples.
Taylor and Mack each hit big trifectas from the wing to help contribute to a six-point lead with 14:15 left.
Mack, already a three-time SSC Player of the Week selection, operated efficiently again within the offense and also nailed 7-of-8 tries from the free throw line.
The Tritons led by one point at halftime and the game featured three ties and 11 lead changes. EC led by eight points with 19 seconds left in regulation after Mack converted both of his charity stripe attempts.
Harris, who made late treys with six seconds and no time left on the game clock, led Saint Leo with 27 points while First Team All-SSC guard Marcus Ruh finished with 18.
The Tritons will celebrate their senior class of Taylor, Mack, Wade and
Sammy O'Garro, on Saturday to conclude the regular season against Lynn University before the SSC Championship commences in Kissimmee.
The ceremonies will precede the scheduled tip-off set for 4 p.m. in the McArthur Center.
