Defense Sets Tone as Tritons Trip Florida Tech

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Heading into Saturday's game against one of the conference's most explosive offensive teams, Eckerd men's basketball head coach Tom Ryan knew it would be important for his team to set the defensive tone early in the contest.

The Tritons did so to perfection, building a 17-point lead at halftime on the way to a 90-71 win over Florida Tech to begin the second half of the Sunshine State Conference schedule.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 90, Florida Tech 71
Records: Eckerd 15-3 (8-3 SSC), Florida Tech 10-9 (5-6 SSC)
All-Time Series: Eckerd leads, 61-32

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Eckerd led the game wire-to-wire, scoring just 16 seconds into the contest on a jumper by Trevon Young.  It was part of a 14-2 run over the first four minutes that gave the Tritons early momentum.
• Four minutes later, Florida Tech managed to pull back within six points and still stayed within striking distance until EC went on a 12-4 run late in the first half to extend its lead to 16.  Travis Bianco then put an exclamation point on the half with a thunderous one-handed dunk in transition as Eckerd took a 44-27 lead into halftime.
• The Tritons enjoyed a double-digit lead for the rest of the game, going up by 22 just minutes into the second half following a 3-pointer by Keshawn Ingram.  A 10-2 FIT run saw the Panthers pull within 12 points with 13:10 left, but Eckerd rolled off nine unanswered points to derail the Panther comeback attempt.  Florida Tech never threatened the Tritons' lead for the rest of the game.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• The Tritons now find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the Sunshine State Conference with Barry and Rollins at 8-3 in SSC play.
• Eckerd held the conference's leading scorer, Sam Daniel, to just one point in the first half.
• The Tritons completely dominated on the boards, grabbing 45 total rebounds to just 21 for Florida Tech.  EC had 14 offensive rebounds, which turned into 23 second-chance points.
• For the second straight game, the Tritons shot 88 percent from the free throw line going 30-for-34 today.
• Marco Behori posted his first career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Five players scored in double-figures for Eckerd with a trio - Young, Drushaun McLaurn, and Blake Morrow - scoring 18 points.

QUOTABLE
"We did a good job of keeping their big guns from getting good looks early in the game.  We were trying to stop them instead of out-score them.  Everyone's in the race in the conference now, so wins like this are always good to get." - EC head coach Tom Ryan 

UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center on Wednesday, hosting Tampa at 7:30 PM.