No. 23 Florida Southern Uses Second-Half Run to Defeat Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A 20-2 run by Florida Southern midway through the second half proved to be the difference in Wednesday night's NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase on ESPN3, as the No. 23 Mocs pulled away from the Eckerd men's basketball team in the McArthur Center for a 91-80 win and a regular-season sweep.

After trailing by double digits in the first half, the Tritons stormed back to pull within two at halftime and kept the momentum rolling into the second half, scoring on four straight possessions on the way to a six-point lead.

Unfortunately, an Eckerd cold spell soon followed while the Moccasins went on a tear and built a lead too large for the Tritons to overcome.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: #23 Florida Southern 91, Eckerd 80
Records: Eckerd 17-8 (10-7 SSC); Florida Southern 22-3 (13-4 SSC)

KEY MOMENTS

• Kiko Stavrev started the game with a hot hand, scoring Eckerd's first eight points on two 3-pointers and a baseline jumper. A Myron Hagins 3-pointer gave EC an 11-7 lead, but it was short-lived as FSC went on a 9-0 run and stayed on top for the rest of the half.
• The Mocs extended their lead to 11 with 3:19 to go in the first half before Eckerd closed on an 11-2 run to pull within two at the break, 41-39. Marco Behori scored the first five points of the run, then assisted on two more Hagins 3-pointers before drawing a foul on a layup with three seconds left to cut the deficit to a basket.
• The Tritons took the lead on their first possession of the second half thanks to a Marquis Gilbert 3-pointer and soon found themselves leading by six (51-45) with 15:30 left after two Drushaun McLaurn baskets.
• An offensive rebound off a Jonathan Lawton miss kept the next possession alive for Florida Southern, leading to a 3-pointer from Slinky Jones. His basket triggered a 20-2 run over the next 5:19 as the Mocs took a 12-point lead - their largest of the game - with just under 10:00 to play. Eckerd managed only two points on seven possessions in the stretch while Florida Southern scored on eight straight possessions, including four 3-pointers.
• A quick 7-0 run got Eckerd back within five points at the 7:44 mark and again with 7:00 to go, but the Tritons pulled no closer. Ben Marello hit a high-arcing 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to put the Mocs back up by nine with 3:37 left, and Florida Southern scored on its final eight possessions of the game to secure the win.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Eckerd remains in fourth place in the Sunshine State Conference standings by a game over Barry, who lost to Palm Beach Atlantic.  The Tritons are also fourth in the regional rankings, which were released earlier in the day.
• Hagins scored a career-high 22 points, fueled by six 3-pointers, and missed a double-double by one rebound.  McLaurn added 15 points while Gilbert scored 10.
• The Mocs dominated the boards, out-rebounding Eckerd 41-28.  The minus-13 rebound margin was Eckerd's worst of the season.
• The loss was EC's third in a row, the team's longest losing streak since the 2014-15 season.

UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to Rollins for a 4:00 PM tipoff on Saturday.