Ryan Wins 400th Game as Tritons Defeat Saint Leo, 88-82

Box Score SAINT LEO, Fla. - Eckerd men's basketball head coach Tom Ryan got a milestone win while the Tritons clinched second place in the Sunshine State Conference following an 88-82 defeat of Saint Leo on Wednesday night.

Tonight's win gave Ryan 400 for his career - all of which have come at Eckerd - as he joined legendary coach and administrator Jim Harley (421) in the 400-win club.

"All the people that have come through our program, they're the reason why we do what we do at Eckerd," Ryan said, quick to pass credit to others.  "I couldn't have done it without them and the coaches that have been such an important part of our program over the years."

For the Tritons (19-7, 12-5 SSC), it was a quality road win after falling victim to an upset on their home floor last Saturday.  It clinched the No. 2 seed in next week's conference tournament, although Barry secured the regular season title tonight with a win over Florida Southern.

Eckerd held a slight lead for most of the first half, but the Lions turned the tables in the final four minutes through a 15-2 run that sent Saint Leo to halftime with a seven-point lead.

The Tritons quickly erased that deficit in the second half as the two teams battled with neither holding more than a two-possession lead for the majority of the half.

A Kevin Walsh 3-pointer with 9:30 to play gave Eckerd the lead for good, but it was back-to-back layups by Trevon Young and Drushaun McLaurn that created a bit of a cushion as EC stretched its lead to 79-72 with 2:40 left.

After Saint Leo (12-15, 6-11 SSC) got back within six points on a Marcus Dewberry free throw, McLaurn and Young again delivered baskets on consecutive possessions to extend Eckerd's lead to 10 points with under a minute to play.  Young's layup capped a well-executed possession in which Eckerd worked late into the shot clock, draining more valuable time off the game clock.

"We played really hard in the second half," Ryan said.  "Our guys believe in each other and believe in what we do, but they're not always dialed in all the way.  We were in and out in the first half but got dialed in during the second half.  It's going to have to be a team effort the rest of the way and we need to find guys to step up off the bench and make plays."

McLaurn and Young both had timely performances in the win. McLaurn scored 28 points and missed a double-double by a single rebound.  Young completed his double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Obi Kyei added 15 points while Walsh had 14.

Eckerd was uncharacteristically cold from behind the arc (2-for-13) but the trio of McLaurn, Young and Kyei shot a combined 60 percent from the floor to compensate.

Dewberry led all scorers with 35 points, 22 of which came in the first half.

The Tritons conclude the regular season on Saturday, hosting Florida Southern at 4:00 PM.  The program's four seniors will be honored before tip-off.