Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Eckerd men's basketball team entered the ICI Center with the longest active win streak in NCAA Division II at 16 in a row, but the Tritons' historic run came to an end against the Embry-Riddle Eagles, 68-65, on Wednesday night.
Eckerd head coach
Tom Ryan has preached throughout the season that free throws, rebounding and turnovers can make or break a team and tonight, it broke the Tritons.
EC committed four turnovers before it scored its first bucket, a 3-point shot by
Kevin Walsh three minutes into the game, and 10 in the first half. On the glass, the Tritons were out-rebounded for the third time in four games while allowing 14 offensive rebounds.
"They're physical and aggressive, and we gave them too many offensive rebounds. They made us pay with those extra possessions," Ryan said.
After shooting just 32.1 percent from the field in the first half, Eckerd (16-2) trailed ERAU 34-27 at the intermission. It was the first time the Tritons faced a halftime deficit since trailing 30-26 at then-No. 11 Rollins College on December 12, 2015, before mounting a comeback for a 67-62 victory. The Tritons used an improved 51.4 percent second-half shooting performance to mount a comeback attempt but were unable to even the score or retake the lead.
"We did a better job of moving the ball in the second half. We started the game off with four turnovers and taking jump shots," Ryan said. "We weren't getting the ball inside and to the basket at all, in part because they weren't letting us get there."
Late in the game, a comeback was within Eckerd's reach after
Marco Behori found
Drushaun McLaurn for a traditional 3-point play with 48 seconds left to make it a one-possession ball game. With the shot clock still active, the Tritons elected to defend the Eagles (11-5) instead of sending them to the free throw line.
Trevon Young pulled down one of his game-high nine rebounds on the missed jumper by Graham Dillon that followed.
The Tritons called a timeout at midcourt to setup a 3-point shot but were fouled with six seconds remaining before being able to get a look. However, McLaurn's free throw seconds earlier proved to be the final point of the game for either team as Eckerd missed two front-ends of one-and-one opportunities while the Eagles missed all three of their attempts in the closing seconds. Eckerd secured the rebound on the final free throw of the game but could not get off a last-second shot to send the game to overtime.
McLaurn led all scorers with 24 points with an 11-of-15 shooting performance. Young followed with 14 points while
Kevin Walsh added 12.
Coach Ryan and company now have their eyes set on Palm Beach Atlantic University (9-6) when Eckerd returns to action on Saturday, January 23, hosting the Sailfish in non-conference action. The game is set to tip-off at 4:00 pm following the women's contest.
