ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd men's basketball team used an early nine-point scoring run to build a lead it would not relinquish, as Eckerd cruised to a 113-66 victory over Puerto Rico Mayaguez Monday night.
Three Tritons scored 20 or more points in the home opener as
Travis Bianco posted 24 points while
Malcolm Whitlow and
Myron Hagins added 20 points each.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 113, Puerto Rico Mayaguez 66
Records: Eckerd 2-1, Puerto Rico Mayaguez 0-3
KEY MOMENTS
- After a back-and-forth opening three minutes, Travis Bianco and Myron Hagins knocked down back-to-back triples sparking a 9-0 Triton scoring run to take an early 15-5 advantage.
- Eckerd's lead fluctuated between eight and 14 points over the next ten minutes before the Tritons went on another nine-point scoring run to push in front by 21 points (42-21) with 4:28 left. EC maintained over a 20 point lead the rest of the half, taking a 56-28 lead at the break.
- Eckerd opened the second half with another scoring stretch as a Malcolm Whitlow 3-pointer sparked a run of 12 consecutive points for a 40-point lead (68-28) with 16:13 left.
- UPRM followed with a 13-4 run to pull within 31 at 77-46 before EC used a 14-2 stretch to push back out by 40 with seven minutes left. The Tritons stayed in the driver's seat the rest of the way, cruising to a 113-66 victory.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Hagins produced an impressive all-around effort with 20 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high five steals.
- Bianco led all scorers with a career-high 24 points while Whitlow also contributed a career-high 20 points.
- The Tritons eclipsed the century mark for the first time since Dec. 19, 2017.
- EC dominated the boards holding a plus-18 (46-28) rebound advantage.
- Eckerd totaled 10 steals, resulting in 19 points off those turnovers.
QUOTABLE
"We played really hard tonight. I'm really proud of our guys to get our first win at home in the 19-20 season. Obviously, it's early, and we have things we need to work on offensively and defensively, but our effort was there tonight," said head coach
Bryan Galuski. "Everyone had a chance to play. We just have to fine-tune some things on the floor, but I liked our effort tonight, and it's great momentum going into a conference game on Saturday against Palm Beach [Atlantic]. "
UP NEXT
Eckerd opens up conference play on Saturday with a trip to Palm Beach Atlantic for a 3:00 PM tip.
