Box Score
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Junior guard
Alex Bodney triggered a 13-3 run to begin the contest and the Eckerd College men's basketball program closed out a pesky Nova Southeastern University squad on the road Wednesday night in NSU Arena, 63-59.
Bodney scored a team-high 18 points with four of his five field goals coming from beyond the arc as the Tritons (13-5, 6-4 SSC) maintained their current position in the upper half of the Sunshine State Conference standings in fourth.
Senior forward
Darrien Mack closed in on the 1,000-point career milestone with a strong all-around effort that included 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
He is currently at 979 points going into Saturday's matchup vs. Florida Tech, positioned to soon become just the 16th player in program history to score 1,000 or more points.
Eckerd has won five of its last six contests and salvaged a regular-season split against the Sharks (11-8, 4-7 SSC) after suffering a home setback back in January.
Bodney set the tone early with the Tritons' barrage of three-point baskets, connecting on a 22-footer at the top of the key on EC's first possession.
“We set certain goals for ourselves as far as what we want our record to be in conference,” said Bodney. “Those goals are still attainable, but right now, each game is just as big as the next.”
“We had a few easy buckets and some threes go down early,” he added. “I felt like we were in control of the game, but every time I looked at the scoreboard, it seemed like they wouldn't go away.”
The Tritons overcame another double-double effort from Iran Hollis who carved out 19 points and 14 rebounds. Sean Mullan cashed in for 15 off the bench and Brian Cahill was also in double-figures with 11.
EC shot over 52 percent from the floor in the first half and made eight of its first 14 shots.
Freshman guard/forward
Jerrick Stevenson nailed a pair of treys as part of the game-opening run in the first four minutes of action. He finished with nine.
The Tritons enjoyed their largest lead of the game up 13 on separate possessions midway through the first half after Bodney and Stevenson both traded triples.
Mullan started heating up before halftime as he scored seven consecutive points to get the Sharks within two, 29-27. Eckerd took a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
The Sharks managed to knot things up at 32-32 two minutes into the final period, but the Tritons answered with back-to-back treys from Bodney that restored the EC cushion to a seven-point margin.
The Tritons nailed down eight consecutive free throws inside the final minute to override NSU's Maurice Fuller's pair of three point-shots made in the last 10 seconds of regulation.
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center on Saturday afternoon to tangle against Florida Tech with a 4 p.m. scheduled tip-off. The Tritons upended the Panthers in Melbourne earlier this season, 80-76.
