Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College men's basketball team used suffocating defense and won its second consecutive Sunshine State Conference game over Lynn University, 72-55, on Wednesday night at the McArthur Center.
With the win, Eckerd (11-8, 4-4 SSC) moves up one spot in the conference rankings in a three-way tie for fourth. The Tritons join Saint Leo University and the University of Tampa at 4-4 in conference play as the first round of league play comes to a close. Lynn (7-11, 1-7 SSC) remains in ninth in the SSC standings.
It was almost five minutes into the first half before Lynn's Aaron Harrison scored on a layup to put to the Fighting Knights on the board and end a 9-0 run for the Tritons.
A dunk by sophomore
Jerrick Stevenson at the 4:47 mark highlighted the first half of play and pleased and engaged Eckerd home crowd. It also sparked a 10-3 run to give the Tritons their largest lead of the half at 17.
Eckerd entered the second half leading 41-24 and continued to build momentum. With 16:52 remaining, a layup from Stevenson moved the Tritons ahead, 48-28, for its largest lead of the night.
Minutes later, a tough full court press defense from the Fighting Knights helped cause five Tritons' turnovers and assisted Lynn in a 9-0 run to pull within nine, 50-41, with 8:18 on the clock.
But Eckerd entered the bonus with just under eight minutes remaining, and junior
Malcolm Brunner Jr. scored six consecutive points for the Tritons -- including four from the free-throw line -- and built Eckerd's lead back to 16 to pull away for the win.
Stevenson led the Tritons in scoring with 14 points and also added six rebounds.
Senior
Josh Snodgrass continues to makes his offensive presence known as he returns strong from injury. He has scored in double-digits in his two appearances since returning to the court, including 12 points tonight.
Senior
Alex Bodney, who helped halt the Lynn momentum with an acrobatic reverse layup through traffic as part of a three-point play, and Brunner Jr. capped the double-digit scoring for Eckerd with 13 points each.
The Tritons take a break from conference competition on Saturday as Palm Beach Atlantic University travels to St. Petersburg in a game scheduled for 4 p.m.
Live stats and video will be available for the game on
www.EckerdTritons.com.
