Postgame Press Conference
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The seventh-seeded Eckerd College men's basketball team concluded its remarkable run in the Sunshine State Conference Championship on Saturday in an 82-76 loss to No. 1 seeded Florida Southern College in Silver Spurs Arena.
After Eckerd was leading for most of the game, the Moccasins (26-4 overall) came from behind in the second half with just six minutes left in the game to defeat the Tritons (17-14 overall).
The Tritons were playing their third game in four days, busting the bracket along the way as the underdog to eliminate No. 4 Barry University in the first round and No. 6 Nova Southeastern University in the second round.
The Moccasins will face the No. 3 seed University of Tampa in the championship final on Sunday.
Senior
Alex Bodney continued last night's campaign from long range, scoring the Tritons' first basket from behind the
arc.
The Tritons led through the first two media timeouts and took a commanding nine-point lead up 17-8 on a three-pointer from sophomore
E.J. Moody with 8:48 left in the half.
Eckerd took its largest lead of the half, 28-15, as junior
Malcolm Brunner Jr. was fouled and sank two from the free-throw line with 6:09 on the clock.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Tritons through the first half as Florida Southern converted 12 points off of nine Eckerd turnovers, four of which came in the final six minutes of the half.
The Moccasins closed out the half on a four-point run to cut Eckerd's lead to four, 37-33.
However, the Tritons bounced back in the opening minutes of the second half as
Jerrick Stevenson recovered the ball on a missed rebound and scored on the fast break and also drew a foul. Stevenson sank his free-throw attempt and opened up a 10-2 run for the Tritons.
Another three-point play from Stevenson midway through the second half built the Tritons' lead to 13, 61-48, with 10:50 left in the game.
With 8:42 left in the game, FSC's Stephen Battle scored on a jumper to trigger a 9-0 run for the Mocs and cut Eckerd's lead to one, 63-62.
Minutes later, Florida Southern took its first lead of the game, 69-68, on a layup from Tyler Kelly, and extended the lead by as much as six on a jumper from Lamar McKnight in the final five minutes.
With 1:30 left in the game, Moody made two free-throws to make it a one possession game, 77-74, but the Tritons were forced to foul and the Mocs sank 3-of-6 from the line to seal the win.
Senior
Josh Snodgrass closed his career with Bodney and led the Tritons in scoring with 19 points. Brunner Jr. added 25 points and eight rebounds, while Stevenson collected 12 points and eight rebounds.
Moody (12) and Bodney (10) each tallied double-digit scoring.
FSC's Kevin Capers scored a game-high 23 points and Frank Adams netted 20.
