MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY: #16/15 Eckerd at Tampa

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After suffering its first home loss of the season, the Eckerd men's basketball team heads back on the road for a visit to the University of Tampa on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
 

#16/15 Eckerd (18-4, 9-2 SSC) at Tampa (6-14, 2-8 SSC)
WHEN	Saturday, February 6 | 4:00 PM
WHERE	Martinez Center; Tampa, Fla.
WATCH	Live Video | Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@ECTritons) | Instagram (@EckerdTritons)
LAST MEETING	Eckerd 81, Tampa 58 (12/5/15)

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
- Tampa currently sits in last place in the conference standings, but has lost a number of close contests in SSC play including a four-point loss to Nova Southeastern and a one-point loss to Rollins last month.  The Spartans are coming off another one-point loss on Wednesday against Embry-Riddle.
- Defense has been a big part of the team's competitiveness lately as UT has held opponents to an average of 64.4 points per game over its last five.  Tampa's last three opponents have been limited to no more than 60 points.
- Duke Shelton, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Ocala, Florida, has been a defensive force in the paint recently.  He's averaging 9.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game over his last nine contests.
- Freshman Pat Bacon has been sensational this season, averaging a team-leading 19.2 points per game.  He rarely comes off the floor, playing an average of 36.2 minutes per game, and gets to the free throw line frequently (90-for-112).
- The Spartans have struggled shooting the ball at times this season and rank last in the conference in field goal percentage (42.2 percent).  Shelton has been the team's most reliable shooter making 54.5 percent of his attempts.

ABOUT THE TRITONS
- With Wednesday's 82-79 overtime loss to Rollins, Eckerd dropped into a first-place tie in the SSC standings with Barry at 9-2 with Rollins just 1.5 games back.
- The Tritons continue to lead the conference in scoring defense (69.3 points per game) and defensive field goal percentage (40.8 percent).
- E.J. Moody exploded on Wednesday night for a career-high 32 points, the most in a game for a Triton since Josh King scored 34 against Tampa in the 2007-08 season.  Moody went 11-of-17 from the floor and 6-of-10 from 3-point range in the game.
- Four Tritons are shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range this year: Moody (42.5 percent), Kevin Walsh (44.5 percent), Marco Behori (46.2 percent) and Bradley Reibel (44.1 percent).  Eckerd ranks third in the conference in 3-point percentage at 38.8 percent.
- The majority of the team's conference schedule for the remainder of the season will be played on the road.  Eckerd will host Florida Southern on February 24 in the only home SSC contest before the post-season.

LOOKING BACK
Eckerd methodically pulled away from the Spartans for an 81-58 win in the McArthur Center on December 5.  Jerrick Stevenson led the way with 19 points while Kevin Walsh had 11 and Obi Kyei added 10.  Thirteen EC players scored in the contest.