Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – In yet another overtime contest, the Eckerd College men's basketball team defeated Palm Beach Atlantic 90-86 on Saturday night.
Altavious Carter did not wait long to make his presence felt on senior night knocking down a three just seconds into the contest.
Malcolm Brunner Jr. laid the ball in off the glass on the next possession to go up 4-0. EC jumped out to a quick 16-5 lead after the first five minutes of play.
Brunner Jr brought the McArthur Center crowd to their feet with a monstrous dunk. The senior then sprinted back to the other end of the court for a block, swatting the ball into the stands.
Kevin Walsh put his team up 25-16 midway through the first half with his second three ball of the night.
PBA refused to go away pulling off seven unanswered points bringing it to a one point contest. Eckerd quickly regained control of the ball game jumping back out in front by six with Walsh knocking down his third three pointer of the half. The Tritons went into the locker room holding an eight point lead up 42-34.
The second half started with EC pulling away on a 9-0 run.
Matt Beneduci made it an 11 point ball game hitting a three from the corner pocket with 6:10 remaining in the contest. With less than five minutes to play, PBA made it an eight point game. They continued to chip away at the Tritons lead eventually making it a one point contest with 26 seconds on the clock.
Shane Phillips went to the line hitting both of his free throws. The Sailfish then went down the court to put in a game tying trey, 77-77, with 12.6 ticks left in the contest. EC was unable to put in a last second shot sending the game into overtime.
The Tritons took a comfortable seven point lead before the Sailfish stormed back trailing by just two. Stevenson was fouled in final minute on back to back possessions sinking 3 of 4 foul shots to go up 89-84. EC pulled out the win by a final score of 90-86.
Stevenson ended the night with 23 points, six assists and four steals. Walsh ended up hitting four threes in the game finishing with 14 points.
Trevon Young and Phillips both ended up in double digits scoring 11 and 10 points respectively. The two seniors, Brunner Jr and Carter, combined for 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
"It was a great night for our seniors," said Head Coach,
Tom Ryan. "We came together as a team and pulled out the win. I am really proud of our team."
Three seniors said good-bye to the McArthur Center tonight. Players Brunner Jr and Carter along with four year team manager, Annie Bleecker.
Eckerd (12-15, 4-12) will head to the Sunshine State Conference Tournament beginning on Friday. EC, the No. 8 seed, will meet up with No. 1 seeded Florida Southern Mocs at noon inside the Silver Spurs Arena.
