ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A large second-half lead evaporated, but a pair of seniors made clutch plays in the final seconds as the Eckerd men's basketball team held off Palm Beach Atlantic for a 72-69 win in the McArthur Center.
Eckerd led by 20 points with 13:00 left, but subsequently went ice cold from the floor as the Sailfish rallied to take a one-point lead with 2:17 to go and again in the final minute.
Marco Behori slashed through the lane where his layup with 22 seconds remaining put the Tritons ahead by a point. Seconds later, he stole a deflected pass to complete a vital stop for the EC defense.
Drushan McLaurn was fouled on the inbounds pass and knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to extend the lead to three, and Eckerd forced PBA into a wild shot as time expired.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 72, Palm Beach Atlantic 69
Records: Eckerd 10-3 (3-2 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic 5-8 (1-4 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- Eckerd was hot from behind the arc early in the game, knocking down five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes. Gianni Dailey and Marquis Gilbert made back-to-back triples that extended EC's lead to 22-15 midway through the first half.
- A 9-0 run grew the Triton lead to 12 (41-29) after a McLaurn basket with 1:29 to go in the half before taking a nine-point lead into the break.
- Eckerd opened the second half with another 9-0 run, punctuated by a steal and dunk by McLaurn, extending the lead to 18. Â It soon reached 20 after six unanswered points capped by a Myron Hagins layup at the 13:08 mark.
- The Tritons then went cold offensively, making just four of their next 14 shots and turning the ball over five times over an 11-minute stretch, allowing Palm Beach Atlantic to erase the deficit and take a 67-66 lead after a 3-pointer by De'Ondre Jackson with 2:17 to play.
- A Gilbert layup followed by two Sailfish free throws kept PBA's lead at one with 45 seconds left. Behori then split two defenders for a go-ahead basket and came up with the key steal on PBA's next possession.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- McLaurn's 15 rebounds tied his career high while adding 16 points to form his third double-double of the season and 18th of his career.
- Kristiyan Stavrev scored all of his 14 points in the first half. Â Gilbert also added 14 points while Hagins had 10. Â Behori led the team in assists with seven and steals with three.
- Behori climbed into 14th place on Eckerd's career assist list with 247. His next target: head coach Tom Ryan's 264.
- The Tritons have won nine of their last 11 meetings with Palm Beach Atlantic.
UP NEXT
Eckerd faces a tough task on Wednesday traveling to take on high-scoring No. 5 Nova Southeastern at 7:30 PM in Fort Lauderdale.
