Five Reach Double Figures as Tritons Win Shootout over Franklin

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A fast and furious pace resulted in a high-scoring affair on Tuesday night in the McArthur Center as the Eckerd men's basketball team posted a 111-85 win over visiting NCAA Division III Franklin (Ind.) College.

Five players scored in double figures for the Tritons (3-2), who shot a season-high 58.2 percent from the floor in the victory.

"It was good to get a lot of our guys some quality minutes," said Eckerd head coach Tom Ryan.  "We need to be able to rely on our bench in conference play because it's a grueling schedule."

Eckerd used its size advantage early by getting to the basket and converting from close range, scoring 18 of it first 32 points in the paint.  As a result, the Tritons only trailed once the entire night and took the lead for good after a pair of free throws from Obi Kyei with 14:29 to go in the first half.

Going with a different game plan, Franklin (2-1) relied on perimeter shooting to hang around as the Grizzlies knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half alone.  Both teams executed efficiently on offense with EC shooting 64.5 percent from the floor and Franklin shooting 50.0 percent.

Eckerd led by as many as 17 in the first half and took a 55-41 lead into the break thanks to Kyei's traditional 3-point play with one second remaining on a putback from an offensive rebound.

The trend continued early in the second half as EC scored its first eight points on layups while Franklin made three 3-pointers, the third of which pulled the Grizzlies within 13.  The Tritons answered with a 9-2 run and later put the game out of reach with a 19-2 run that extended the lead to 31 points.

Eckerd's reserves got plenty of action tonight with every player seeing at least seven minutes.  Fourteen different players scored in the win, including a team-high 17 points for Blake Morrow.

Kevin Walsh added 15 points while going 3-of-4 from behind the arc.  Travis Bianco (13 points), Drushaun McLaurn (12 points) and Kyei (10 points) also reached double figures.  Eckerd got a total of 61 points from the bench and scored 50 points in the paint.  EC also shot 35 free throws while only allowing Franklin 16 attempts from the line.

The Tritons return to the floor on Friday on the first day of the Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic, taking on Puerto Rico-Bayamon at 7:30 PM in the McArthur Center.