Tritons Lock Down Tampa for 59-46 Win

Box Score TAMPA, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team has put together some outstanding defensive performances this season, but none perhaps as outstanding as tonight's effort.

The Tritons held Tampa to a season-low 46 points on the way to a 59-46 win over the Spartans on Wednesday night.  The win completes a regular-season sweep of their Bay Area rival.

"We played very well defensively," said EC head coach Tom Ryan.  "It's always a battle and a physical game against Tampa and tonight was no exception."

Eckerd (17-6, 10-4 SSC) led wire-to-wire after Kevin Walsh opened the game with a 3-pointer on the team's first possession.  The Tritons led by as many as 12 in the first half before going into halftime leading 31-21.

EC then scored the first nine points of the second half to build a 19-point lead, and the Spartans never threatened for the rest of the night as the Triton lead reached 23 points with 5:41 left to play.

"We had moments where we were stagnant on offense, but when we built our lead, we did a good job sharing the ball," Ryan said.

The defense also did its job.  Eckerd limited Tampa (14-9, 7-6 SSC) to just 28.8 percent shooting, including 22.6 percent in the second half.  It was UT's lowest scoring output of the season and the fewest allowed in a game this season by Eckerd.

The Tritons closed the first half by outscoring the Spartans, 16-8, over the final nine minutes and opened the second half with nine unanswered points.

Walsh and Trevon Young both had 14 points in the win.  Walsh connected on four 3-pointers, giving him 220 for his career and tying Steve Berg (2002-06) for the most in program history.  Obi Kyei added 11 while Drushaun McLaurn scored 10.

Eckerd now holds a two-game lead over both Rollins and Florida Southern for second place in the SSC standings.

The Tritons return to the floor on Saturday, visiting Nova Southeastern for a 4:00 PM tipoff.