BASKETBALL GAMEDAY: Tritons Visit Florida Southern, Look to Keep Pace in SSC

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd basketball teams look to hold their positions in the Sunshine State Conference standings today when they pay a visit to Florida Southern.
 

#12/22 Eckerd (13-2, 7-0 SSC) at Florida Southern (11-4, 7-1 SSC)
WHEN	Saturday, January 14 | 5:30 PM
WHERE	Lakeland, Fla.
WATCH	Live Video | Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@ECTritons) | Instagram (@EckerdTritons)
LAST MEETING	Florida Southern 67, Eckerd 62 (2/24/16)

ABOUT THE MOCS: The defending regional champions, Florida Southern trails Eckerd by one game in the SSC standings and would move into a tie for first with a win over the Tritons today.  FSC's lone conference loss came at home against Tampa on December 30.  Since then, the Mocs have won three in a row heading into today's matchup.  Newcomer Camille Giardina has emerged as a dangerous scoring threat, leading the Mocs offensively in five of their last six games while averaging 21.0 points per game over that stretch.  Three other players average in double figures: Anja Fuchs-Robetin (13.0 ppg), Jensen Blassage (10.5) and Gianna Vastola (10.5).

LOOKING FOR SEPARATION: A win today for Eckerd would give the Tritons a two-game cushion in the conference standings ahead of Tampa, Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern.  EC hosts Nova Southeastern on Wednesday where another win would help broaden the gap.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: On Tuesday, the Tritons achieved another program first with their debut in the WBCA Coaches Poll coming in at No. 22.  Eckerd also moved up three spots to No. 12 in the D2SIDA Media Poll.
 

Eckerd (12-3, 5-2 SSC) at Florida Southern (6-10, 4-4 SSC)
WHEN	Saturday, January 14 | 7:30 PM
WHERE	Lakeland, Fla.
WATCH	Live Video | Live Stats
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@ECTritons) | Instagram (@EckerdTritons)
LAST MEETING	Eckerd 84, Florida Southern 72 (2/24/16)

ABOUT THE MOCS: Florida Southern may be starting to peak at the right time as the calendar turns to 2017.  The Mocs have won their last two SSC games, defeating Nova Southeastern on the road and Florida Tech at home to even their conference mark at 4-4.  Defense has been an Achilles heel for the team again this season as it allows a league-worst 88.2 points per game, but FSC does rank among the top offensive teams in conference averaging 84.9 points per game.  The Mocs have several scoring options with five players averaging in double figures and another only a tenth of a point away.  Butler transfer Michael Volovic leads the team with 14.7 points per game and is one of the SSC's most dangerous 3-point shooters, knocking down 46.5 percent of his attempts.

NEARING 400: Eckerd head coach Tom Ryan is closing in on his 400th career win, enter tonight's contest with 393 victories to his credit.  Only the third head coach in Eckerd history, Ryan is chasing the record of 421 wins by his former coach and Eckerd legend Jim Harley.

ON FIRE: Triton sophomore Drushaun McLaurn has exploded in his last three games, averaging 27.7 points per game over the stretch while shooting 62.5 percent from the floor.  He's also been a force on the boards and on defense.  McLaurn has posted three consecutive double-doubles and has totaled eight steals in those three contests.