ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd men's basketball breezed past Francis Marion (S.C.) on the first day of the annual Thanksgiving Classic. The Tritons used a sizeable run midway through the second half and eased to an 89-76 win over the Patriots Friday night in the McArthur Center.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 89, Francis Marion 76
Records: Eckerd 4-2; Francis Marion (1-3)
KEY MOMENTS
- The teams traded baskets over the first seven minutes before back-to-back 3-pointers by Travis Bianco and Malcolm Whitlow gave Eckerd a 10-point lead with 11:52 left. EC followed with a cold stretch going nearly five minutes without a basket while Francis Marion went on a 7-0 run to pull within two at 29-27. A Phillip Cirillo triple ignited a 9-2 Triton run over the final three minutes to take a 40-31 lead at halftime.
- EC's lead fluctuated between seven and 11 points at the beginning of the second half before the Tritons went on a 16-3 scoring stretch to take a 68-49 lead with 8:59 left. Eckerd cruised the rest of the way to an 89-76 win, despite a late FMU run to pull within nine with 1:19 left.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Bianco (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Admir Radoncic (19 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles. Both Raconcic and Bianco recorded career-highs in rebounds while Radoncic's double-double was the first of his career.
- Whitlow (13 points, eight assists) and Myron Hagins (nine points, 10 rebounds) both nearly missed double-doubles.
- Kristiyan Stavrev rounded out EC's double-figure scorers with 11 points.
- Eckerd shot 51.6 percent from the floor while holding the Patriots to a 37.7 field goal percentage.
QUOTABLE
"I felt we came out today with a better defensive mentality. We scored the ball well and played unselfish basketball for most of the game," said head coach
Bryan Galuski. "I was disappointed in how we finished the game. We must do a better job in realizing the time and the score late in the game and we need to get defensive stops down the stretch."
UP NEXT
Eckerd is back at the McArthur Center tomorrow night for the second day of the Thanksgiving Classic facing Bemidji State (Minn.) at 7:30 PM.
