Behori's Hot Hand Leads Tritons Past Tampa

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Marco Behori started the game on fire, then did a little bit of everything the rest of the night to lead the Eckerd men's basketball team to a 69-59 win over the University of Tampa on Wednesday night in the McArthur Center.

Behori made his first four shots from the floor as Eckerd jumped out to an early lead that it would hold for the length of the game despite several stretches of poor shooting.

The win kept the Tritons in a tie for third place in the Sunshine State Conference standings at the halfway point of the conference schedule.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 69, Tampa 59
Records: Eckerd 14-4 (7-3 SSC); Tampa 9-9 (3-7 SSC)

KEY MOMENTS

• A 3-pointer by Kristiyan Stavrev 14 seconds into the game kick-started a 15-5 Eckerd run to open the night. Behori was the catalyst in the stretch, scoring 10 points during the run on 4-of-4 shooting.
• After Behori's 3-pointer capped the run, the Tritons went scoreless for the next three-plus minutes until back-to-back 3-pointers by Myron Hagins pushed the lead to 14.  EC's lead extended to as many as 16 points in the first half before taking a 34-21 lead into halftime.
• Despite an early pair of Eckerd 3-pointers, Tampa managed to trim its deficit to nine points (40-31) three minutes into the second half. The Tritons responded with five unanswered points, and despite seeing the Spartans pull within nine points three more times over the next two-and-a-half minutes, EC had an answer each time to prevent UT from further cutting into the lead.
• Eckerd pushed the lead to 60-43 at the 7:00 mark after a Marquis Gilbert 3-pointer and Drushaun McLaurn free throw, with the 17-point lead becoming the largest of the game. Though the Tritons weren't able to further pull away, Tampa never truly threatened for the remainder of the contest.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Behori had a spectacular all-around performance with 18 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and five steals.  The senior is averaging 17.3 points per game over his last four games.
• Eckerd had its best performance on the boards all season by out-rebounding the Spartans, 45-26.  The plus-19 margin topped the previous high of plus-16 and marked the 13th time this season in which the Tritons held the edge on the boards.
• In addition to Behori, three other players scored in double-figures: McLaurn (12), Hagins (11), and Shaquille Harris (10). Harris's 10 points were a career high.
• Hagins recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, tying his career high.

UP NEXT
Eckerd is back in the McArthur Center on Saturday hosting Florida Tech for a 4:00 PM tipoff as the second half of conference play begins.