FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Despite a career-high 31 points from
Travis Bianco, the Eckerd men's basketball team dropped a Sunshine State Conference contest, 100-82, at No. 4 Nova Southeastern Thursday night.
The Tritons hung in with the top scoring offense in the country for the majority of the first half as the teams stayed within two baskets of each other until the final minute of the half. After the tight opening half, the Sharks controlled the rest of the game for an 18-point win.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: No. 4 Nova Southeastern 100, Eckerd 82
Records: Eckerd 6-6 (2-2); Nova Southeastern 9-1 (3-1 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- The game began tight as the teams traded baskets early on before NSU took a slight 16-12 lead at the 13:10 mark. Travis Bianco responded for Eckerd with seven consecutive points over the next three minutes to give Eckerd a 19-16 advantage.
- The teams swapped leads over the next few minutes before the Sharks edged out to a 26-22 lead. A Kristiyan Stavrev triple closed the gap to one point at 28-27 with 6:20 left, but Nova Southeastern quickly pushed back out by six before the Sharks closed out the half on a 10-4 run to take a 45-35 lead at the break.
- NSU opened the second half on a 10-3 run to push out to a 17-point lead at 55-28. The Sharks briefly pushed their lead to 21 at the 15:21 mark before the Tritons responded with an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to 14. The Sharks answered with a 6-1 stretch just before the midway point of the half and cruised in the final 10 minutes for an 18-point victory.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Bianco posted his fourth double-double of the season with 31 points and 13 rebounds. He knocked down five 3-pointers and also grabbed three steals.
- Malcolm Whitlow and Stavrev rounded out the double-digit scorers with 18 and 12 points, respectively.
- Whitlow also dished out six assists.
- Eckerd held the Sharks to just three 3-pointers while shooting just 12.0 percentage from beyond the arc, which are both season-lows for NSU.
- Freshman, Leonard Okiti, made his first career start grabbing seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns home Saturday for a 4:00 PM tip-off against Lynn.
