ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd basketball teams will take the floor in the McArthur Center for the final time in the regular season tonight as they play host to Florida Southern at 5:30 and 7:30 PM.
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ABOUT THE MOCS: Florida Southern needs a win in its final two games this week to lock up third place in the Sunshine State Conference standings. Two wins would tie them with Florida Tech at 12-4 in conference, but the Mocs lost both regular-season contests to the Panthers and as such, would lose the tiebreaker. The team has made huge strides under second-year head coach Betsy Harris posting its first 20-win since since 2010-11.
LAST TIME THEY MET: In a tightly-contested game, the Mocs were able to pull away late and post a 73-65 win over Eckerd on January 9 in Lakeland. EC led for the majority of the game before FSC took control for good with 4:41 to play. The Tritons still had a chance with under a minute to play to make it a one-possession game, but couldn't convert.Â
Chelsea Johnson led Eckerd with 15 points while Florida Southern got 15 points off the bench from Gianna Vastola.
SENIOR NIGHT: Eckerd will honor its two seniors,
Margaret Sundberg and
Kaitlin Jackson, before the game. Both have excelled in the classroon during their time at EC as Sunshine State Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll Award recipients. Both also serve as team captains. Jackson has played all four years of her college career at Eckerd while Sundberg transferred to EC last season from the University of British Columbia.
STRONG FINISH: Sundberg has definitely seemed determined to end her career playing her best basketball. The Mansfield, Connecticut, native now leads the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game while knocking down 43.1 percent from 3-point range. In her last nine games, she is averaging 13.3 points per game and has scored a career-high 22 points on two occasions. She's also made 18 of her last 31 3-point attempts.
WINDING DOWN: Eckerd's two games this week will be important for its positioning in the conference standings. EC enters tonight in sixth place, one game behind Tampa and a half-game ahead of Rollins. A win would guarantee at least a No. 6 seed in the conference tournament as the Tritons hold the tiebreaker over Rollins by virtue of sweeping the regular-season series.
KEY MATCHUP: The Tritons struggled with turnovers in the first meeting of the season against FSC, giving the ball up 20 times which the Mocs converted into 19 points. Eckerd will need to take care of the basketball tonight and not give Florida Southern transition opportunities.
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ABOUT THE MOCS: Florida Southern is experiencing an uncharacteristic down year, entering the night with a 10-16 overall record and 5-9 mark in SSC play. The defending national champions have won three straight regular-season SSC titles and four straight tournament championships. The Mocs are, however, still a very dangerous team especially if they get hot from the perimeter. FSC relies heavily on the 3-pointer, taking nearly half of their shots from behind the arc. The Mocs make over 11 3's per game while shooting 38 percent. Five players have made at least 30 3-pointers on the season.
LAST TIME THEY MET: The Tritons closed the first half on a 20-6 run, which played a big factor in an 84-70 win in Lakeland on January 9. The win was EC's first at Florida Southern since 2007. Eckerd placed six players in double-figures, led by 14 points from
Drushaun McLaurn as the team shot 55.9 percent from the floor.
SENIOR NIGHT: Six seniors will be honored before the tip-off of tonight's game -
E.J. Moody,
Jerrick Stevenson,
Ray Darnell,
Kendall Roberts,
Brian Cobb and
Bradley Reibel. Stevenson ranks fifth all-time in career scoring at Eckerd with 1,346 points entering tonight's contest. All six players have made major contributions this season as the Tritons have been one of the top teams in NCAA Division II.
CLOSING IT OUT: Eckerd's destiny in the conference is in its own hands this week, as a win tonight over FSC and a win Saturday at Barry would crown the Tritons as the SSC Regular Season Champions. EC is a half-game ahead of both Barry and Rollins, and there are several scenarios that could take place this week that would impact the seeding for all three teams. A win tonight, however, would guarantee at least a share of the regular season title for the Tritons, their first since 1995.
MOVING ON UP: Eckerd moved up in both the NABC and D2SIDA National Rankings this week, jumping four spots to No. 20 in the coaches poll and eight spots to No. 14 in the media poll. The new NCAA Regional Rankings come out today, and chances are good that the Tritons will be rated No. 1 in the South Region this week.
KEY MATCHUP: Eckerd has used defense to fuel its success this season, and tonight's matchup will be no different against a high-scoring Florida Southern squad. Last time they met, the Tritons held FSC to just 70 points while making life tough on the team's top two scorers, Dylan Travis and Dominique Williams. The Tritons will need a similar defensive effort tonight to stay on track for the SSC title.
