No. 23 Tritons Strong Down the Stretch at Saint Leo

SAINT LEO, Fla. - One day after receiving their first national ranking of the season, the No. 23 Eckerd men's basketball team saw that ranking put to the test on the road against Saint Leo.

In typical Triton fashion, the team elevated its play down the stretch and pulled away for a 79-74 win, completing the regular-season sweep of the Lions.

After leading by one at halftime, Eckerd quickly fell behind in the beginning stages of the second half. The Tritons retook the lead near the midway point of the half, and the two teams swapped the lead four more times before EC used an 11-3 run to seal the victory.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 79, Saint Leo 74
Records: Eckerd 16-4 (9-3 SSC); Saint Leo 9-11 (6-6 SSC)

KEY MOMENTS

• Saint Leo raced out to a 12-4 lead in the first 3:15 of the game only to see Eckerd use an 11-2 run to go in front on a Marco Behori free throw at the 12:45 mark. Neither team held more than a four-point lead for the remainder of the half. A burst of six unanswered points gave the Lions a two-point lead with 1:44 left, but Behori answered with a 3-pointer to give Eckerd a 35-34 lead at the half.
• The Lions outscored Eckerd, 16-8, over the first five minutes of the second half to build a seven-point lead.  Back-to-back 3-pointers by Behori later helped the Tritons retake the lead at 56-54 with 11:21 to play.
• The teams swapped the lead four times - with four ties as well - over the next eight minutes with the final tie coming on a basket by SLU's Tyler Carter. After both teams came up short on two possessions each in an attempt to claim the lead, Eckerd got a steal from Drushaun McLaurn which led to free throws for Marquis Gilbert. After making the first, Gilbert missed the second but Admir Radoncic grabbed the rebound and converted the putback.
• McLaurn then came up with another steal and was credited with a basket when the Lions' Pape Ngom was called for goaltending on McLaurn's baseline floater giving EC a five-point lead.
• After Saint Leo cut the lead to three, Radoncic was fouled inside and sent to the free throw line. Like Gilbert, he made the first and missed the second, but got his own rebound to keep the possession alive.  He was fouled again, and this time made both free throws to extend the lead to six. 
• The Tritons made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the win, leading by eight before a last-second 3-pointer by Saint Leo trimmed the final margin to five.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Behori scored a career-high 23 points while going 4-of-5 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds and four assists.
• McLaurn (17 points) and Radoncic (11 points) also reached double figures.
• Eckerd might have been able to put the game away sooner but struggled at the free throw line, shooting an uncharacteristic 22-of-33.
• The Tritons' closing performance was helped by making 10 of their final 14 shots of the game.

UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to face No. 11/13 Lynn on Saturday in Boca Raton. The Fighting Knights were upset tonight by Palm Beach Atlantic, dropping them into a tie with Eckerd for second place in the SSC.