Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Sophomore
Jerrick Stevenson scored a team-high 18 points and connected on three treys to highlight the Eckerd College men's basketball team's win over Nova Southeastern University, 75-63, in its Sunshine State Conference opener
Saturday.
The Tritons (8-4, 1-0 SSC) returned to the court after a 13-day break from play over the holidays after stringing together wins at the Tampa Classic over Pfeiffer (N.C.) University and Miles (Ala.) College.
Nova Southeastern (3-9, 0-2 SSC) returned from the layover on Jan. 1 with a win over Amherst (Mass.) College before today's game.
Eckerd temporarily trailed early in the first half but turned around the deficit in the hurry as Nova Southeastern attempted to disrupt the Tritons' offensive rhythm with an unsuccessful half-court trap.
"We have such a young team and we're getting used to what conference play is going to feel like," said EC Head Coach
Tom Ryan. "Every game is going to be a battle like that and I just hope we can bring the intensity and play defense each night."
After EC was trailing for the first nine minutes of play, newcomer
Brian Cobb tied up the score at 11 with a layup and Stevenson broke the subsequent tie with a basket in transition. The Sharks would never regain the lead for the remainder of the game.
With just under
5:30 to play in the first half, the Tritons went on a 10-3 run as it began to pull away from Nova Southeastern. Stevenson owned eight points in the run, adding in one of his three treys from deep range on the night.
In the second half, Eckerd continued to extend its lead and consistently held a double-digit advantage as time wore on. With
10:30 remaining, a
Matt Beneduci three-pointer gave the Tritons a 15-point lead for its widest cushion of the game.
The freshman Beneduci dropped in a pair of triples as the Tritons connected on eight three-point field goals. Senior
Alex Bodney also hit a trio of three-point baskets to match Stevenson.
Bodney and sophomore
Ray Darnell each added 15 points and junior
Malcolm Brunner Jr. tallied 13 points to round up the Eckerd scorers in double-digits.
Nova Southeastern was led by a 20-point effort from Brian Cahill.
Eckerd continues its conference schedule on the road next week against an undefeated and fourth-ranked Florida Southern College program
on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EST in Lakeland.
