Tritons Dominate Glass in Defeat of Puerto Rico-Bayamon

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team overcame an uncharacteristic shooting performance by dominating the boards and getting to the free throw line, picking up an 82-72 win over Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Wednesday night in the McArthur Center.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 82, UPR-Bayamon 72
Records: Eckerd 4-1, UPR-Bayamon 0-2
All-Time Series: Eckerd leads, 20-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tritons struggled to convert on shots from the outset making just 34.2 percent from the floor and 2-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half.  However, Eckerd helped compensate for that lack of accuracy with 17 offensive rebounds and held a 34-11 edge on the boards through the first 20 minutes. 
• A Trevon Young basket with 14:33 left in the first half gave EC the lead and the Tritons never trailed the rest of the night, although some timely outside shooting by the Cowboys helped them stay within reach of the lead.  A 3-pointer by Roberto de Jesus tied the game at 28-28 with 5:59 left, but Eckerd followed with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes and took a 40-31 lead into halftime.
• The EC lead extended to 13 points early in the second half and later pushed to 17 on a tip-in by Paulius Zabilevicius with 7:43 to play.  The Tritons continued to lead by double-digits for the rest of the night, although UPR-Bayamon kept the outcome respectable by getting out in transition.  Eckerd shot the ball slightly better in the second half (41.4 percent) and made 15-of-17 from the free throw line to preserve the lead.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Trevon Young grabbed his 500th career rebound early in the game, becoming the 16th player in program history to reach the mark.  He finished the night with 16 points and seven rebounds.
• McLaurn led Eckerd with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.  He's been the team's leading scorer in each of the last four games.
• The Tritons ended the night with a 53-30 advantage on the boards and converted 23 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.  The Cowboys managed only three second-chance points.
• Marco Behori tied his career-high in rebounds with nine, the second time this season he's been one short of 10 boards.
• The Tritons went 27-of-34 from the free throw line, making more free throws than UPR-Bayamon attempted (20).

UP NEXT
The Tritons return to the McArthur Center on Friday to host the annual Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic.  EC takes on Keiser (Fla.) on Friday at 7:30 PM before hosting Pittsburg State (Kan.) in the finale on Saturday at 7:30 PM.