Schmidt Sparks Delta State Comeback Win over Tritons

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Coming into tonight's game against Delta State University, Eckerd men's basketball coach knew that DSU's Devin Schmidt would present a problem.

His prognostication was correct, as Schmidt scored 37 points and led a rally that saw the Statesmen erase a 17-point Eckerd lead to pull out a 75-72 win over the Tritons in the GSC-SSC Challenge.

The Tritons (1-1) had a chance to tie at the end of regulation and almost did even though the team didn't get the shot it wanted.  Blake Morrow launched a shot from near half-court that hit the front of the rim, then the backboard, then the rim again before falling on the wrong side of the net.

It marked the second game of the weekend that saw a potential game-tying shot against Delta State narrowly miss the mark.  DSU (2-0) also avoided overtime on a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer by Florida Southern on Friday.

Even with Schmidt's outburst, which included 28 points in the second half, the Tritons had several chances to win but turnovers and forced shots did damage. 

"We got stagnant on offense in the second half," Ryan said.  "They packed it in and we took some bad shots and turned the ball over.  We weren't as smart as we need to be to finish the game."

For all his work on the offensive end, Schmidt's play on defense with 10 seconds left was equally as important.  With Eckerd trailing by three and trying to save time on the clock for the last shot, Schmidt slapped a ball away at half-court and created a transition opportunity for his team.

Eckerd still had a final chance after two missed Statesman free throws, but Morrow's game-tying attempt was just off the mark.

The Tritons controlled the game for much of the first half, using an early 12-0 run to wrest momentum after a quick start by DSU.  An 11-3 run pushed the lead to double digits, and a Shane Phillips 3-pointer sent EC to halftime with a 42-28 lead.

The lead reached 17 early in the second half following an Obi Kyei layup with 16:37 to play, but Schmidt - who was held to nine points in the first half - began to find his shot and Delta State played off of his energy to quickly close the gap.

"We didn't play like veterans for sure.  We weren't savvy enough for the full game," said Ryan.  "Our energy was good.  We weren't lazy or slow but you can't turn the ball over 17 times and beat a team like Delta State."

Trevon Young led the Tritons with 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Kevin Walsh added 13 while Drushaun McLaurn had 12 and Obi Kyei had 11.

Eckerd returns to the floor on Wednesday when the team will open Sunshine State Conference play by hosting Florida Tech at 7:30 PM.