Radoncic Nets Career High, Tritons Knock Off Delta State in Opener

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team received a pair of career performances from two seniors, helping lead the Tritons to a season-opening victory over Delta State (Miss.) at the SSC-GSC Challenge at Florida Southern.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 85, Delta State 78
Records: Eckerd 1-0, Delta State 0-1

KEY MOMENTS

• Eckerd shot the ball well from the perimeter out of the gate, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Myron Hagins and Kristiyan Stavrev capped a 10-2 run to open the game.  The lead grew to as many as 11 after Shaquille Harris scored in transition at the 14:48 mark.
• Delta State slowly cut into the margin, outscoring Eckerd 19-7 over a nine-minute stretch to take its first lead of the game at 28-27 with 5:26 left in the first half.  The Tritons later scored six unanswered points, capped by a Marco Behori 3-pointer, for a 38-34 lead before going into halftime ahead by two (40-38).
• The teams swapped the lead throughout most of the second half with neither able to build more than a five-point advantage until Eckerd went on a 14-3 run turning a one-point deficit into a 76-66 lead with 3:44 to play.  A 3-pointer by Gianni Dailey started the run followed by seven straight points from Admir Radoncic.
• A quick 7-1 run by the Statesmen cut the lead down to four points at 2:18 left, but Marco Behori canned a clutch 3-pointer from the right wing on Eckerd's next possession.  The result wasn't safe, however, even in the last minute.  Trailing by five, DSU forced a turnover and had a look to pull within two but the Tritons forced Brett Warner into an off-balance shot that essentially iced the win for EC.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Radoncic came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points in just 18 minutes.  The senior went 6-of-9 from the floor, 2-of-2 from behind the arc, and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
• Dailey also had a career-high with 16 points including a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.  Myron Hagins finished a point shy of his career watermark, adding 16 points and eight rebounds.
• Behori had a solid line with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
• This marks the fourth year in a row that Eckerd and Delta State have played each other in the season opener.  The Tritons have won the last two contests.

QUOTABLE
"We had a great effort today.  We have some guys still learning our system and their roles, but I will take that effort every day." - EC head coach Tom Ryan

UP NEXT
The Tritons return to action tomorrow at 12:00 noon taking on West Alabama in Lakeland.