MELBOURNE, Fla.- After a fairly even first half, the Panthers used a pair of runs early in the second half to distance themselves as they went on to defeat the Eckerd men's basketball team, 71-63, Wednesday night at the Clemente Center.
Despite the double-digit deficit in the second half, the Tritons rallied to pull within five points with 1:19 left but were unable to complete the comeback.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Florida Tech 71, Eckerd 63
Records: Eckerd 6-8 (2-4 SSC); Florida Tech 8-7 (2-5 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- After a pair of made free throws by Florida Tech, Eckerd went on an 11-3 run over the next five minutes to take an early 11-4 lead. The Panthers responded with a quick run of eight straight points to take a one-point advantage with 11:42 left. The teams then traded baskets until FIT took a five-point lead at the 5:27 mark. However, the Tritons responded to close the half on a 10-3 run to take a slight 25-23 favor at halftime.
- The teams stayed within two points of each other over the first four minutes of the second half before Derek Murphy went on a run of seven consecutive points to give the Panthers 40-34 lead. A Kristiyan Stavrev layup ended the stretch, but the Panthers followed with a 10-2 run to push out by 12 points with 9:25 left.
- Florida Tech went up by 13 one minute later, but the Tritons followed with a 7-0 scoring stretch to pull within seven with 6:06 left. A Stavrev triple two minutes later pulled EC within five points, but the Panthers responded to push back out by eight on the next possession. With 1:19 left, the Tritons again trimmed the deficit to five on a Malcolm Whitlow layup, but Florida Tech made five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Whitlow led the EC offense with 16 points while Stavrev followed with 15 points. Admir Radoncic and O'Shane Taylor-Douglas rounded out the double-figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
- Eckerd held a 44-35 advantage on the boards. Travis Bianco led the way with 11 rebounds and Radoncic had seven.
- Eckerd committed 23 turnovers compared to Florida Tech's 12.
- The Tritons shot 46.6 percent from the field while the Panthers shot 35.9 percent.
- Eckerd scored 38 points in the paint compared to Florida Tech's 18.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of our defensive effort tonight, after two very good days of practice. However, we can't expect to win on the road committing 23 turnovers. We must do a much better job valuing the basketball," said head coach
Bryan Galuski.
UP NEXT
Eckerd looks to get back into the win column on Saturday with a trip to Embry-Riddle for a 6:00 PM start.
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