No. 22 Tritons Bounce Back to Blow Out Embry-Riddle

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After suffering its first loss in nearly two months on Wednesday, the No. 22 Eckerd men's basketball team took little time to bounce back after a strong first half paved the way in a 95-72 win over Embry-Riddle in the McArthur Center on Saturday afternoon.

Drushaun McLaurn led the way with 23 points while Trevon Young (17 points, 13 rebounds) posted a double-double and Blake Morrow added 18 points off the bench.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 95, Embry-Riddle 72
Records: Eckerd 13-2 (6-2 SSC); Embry-Riddle 6-9 (0-7 SSC)
All-Time Series: Eckerd leads, 3-2

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tritons started slow, finding themselves trailing 6-0 at the first media timeout after missing their first six shots.  However, the cold spell didn't last long.  A 3-pointer by ERAU's Brian Johnson gave his team an 11-6 lead at the 13:15 mark before Eckerd went ahead after scoring seven unanswered points.  The teams then swapped the lead four times over the next few minutes until a 17-0 run put the Tritons in firm control.
• Eckerd led by a many as 18 in the first half and took a lead of that margin into halftime following a ferocious one-handed dunk by Drushaun McLaurn just before the buzzer.
• The Tritons stayed in control throughout the second half with their lead never dipping below 15 points.  An 8-1 run midway through the half grew EC's margin to 24, and a late 13-4 run extended the lead to 95-69 after Travis Bianco's third 3-pointer of the game.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Eckerd made 11 3-pointers in the game, the team's second-highest total of the season.  Its 52.4 percent shooting performance from behind the arc as the best of the season.
• The Tritons shot 55.6 percent, marking the sixth time in the last seven games that the team has shot better than 50 percent.
• Eckerd's last six wins have all been by double-digits.
• Trevon Young had 17 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.

QUOTABLE
"Our defense wasn't bad early but offensively we weren't moving the ball.  Once we started moving the ball, we were much more efficient. You always nervous about how we'd react to a loss especially after a slow start today, but our guys responded nicely." - EC head coach Tom Ryan

UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to face Lynn on Wednesday at 7:30 PM in Sunshine State Conference action.