MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY: Eckerd at #11 Rollins

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It will be a battle for early supremacy in the Sunshine State Conference on Saturday as the only remaining teams with unbeaten records in conference play face off when the Eckerd men's basketball team travels to play No. 11 Rollins College at 2:00 PM.

WHAT: Eckerd (8-1, 3-0 SSC) at No. 11 Rollins (9-0, 2-0 SSC)
WHERE: Warden Arena; Winter Park, Fla.
WATCH: Live Stats | Live Video

ABOUT THE TARS
- The Tars climbed to No. 11 in this week's NABC Division II Coaches Poll, up six spots from their position in the previous poll.  Rollins is the only SSC team currently represented in the top 25.
- Rollins overcame a 15-point deficit with five minutes left in its last outing, coming back to defeat Nova Southeastern, 75-74, to stay perfect on the season.  Joey Galvis connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer with five seconds left.
- Statistically, Rollins is among the top teams in D-II in several categories.  The Tars lead all of Division II in free throw percentage (86.3 percent) and rank in the top 10 in four other categories: steals per game (11.6; 5th), scoring margin (19.6, 6th), 3-pointers made per game (11.2, 8th) and field goal percentage (51.8, 9th).
- Sharif Almulla and Jeff Merton lead an offense that averages nearly 90 points per game.  Almulla, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scores 18.1 points per game while knocking down 47.2 percent from behind the arc while Merton, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, averages 16.1 points per game and shoots 50.0 percent from 3-point range.  Four other Tars average between 9.6 and 9.7 points per game.

ABOUT THE TRITONS
- Eckerd won its eighth straight game last Saturday by handling rival Tampa, 81-58.  Jerrick Stevenson scored 19 points to lead the way, but defense was a key factor as EC limited the Spartans to 32.8 percent shooting from the floor.
- The Tritons' current eight-game winning streak is the team's longest since the 2010-11 season when EC won 10 straight games on the way to a 22-8 record.
- Like Rollins, the Tritons boast a very balanced offense with four players averaging in double figures and two more averaging just under 10 points per game.  Stevenson leads the team with 14.9 points per game while Drushaun McLaurn (10.9 ppg), Kevin Walsh (10.8 ppg) and Trevon Young (10.1 ppg) also score in double figures.  E.J. Moody (9.8 ppg) and Obi Kyei (9.1 ppg) have also proven to be scoring threats when needed.
- Eckerd's attacking offense has created a lot of free throw opportunities.  The Tritons currently rank third in NCAA Division II in both free throws made (207) and free throws attempted (295).  Rebounding has also been a key, as EC ranks 17th in D-II in rebounding margin (+8.2).