Join us each Tuesday over the Fall semester as we reflect on each of our Sunshine State Conference Championships.
Eckerd's 13th Sunshine State Conference Championships was crowned in 1994 as men's basketball topped Tampa, 77-71, in overtime in the SSC Tournament Championship.
The title was the first program SSC championship for men's basketball.
The Tritons entered the Tournament as the No. 6 seed and defeated Barry 83-63 in the first round before posting another 20-point win in the second round defeating the University of North Florida, 70-47.
In the championship game, EC rallied to tie the game with six seconds left and Rodney Chatman's layup with 19 seconds left in overtime sealed the championship.
In the conference tournament's history, Eckerd's victory has been the only No. 6 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, and it is also the highest-ranking upset of a No. 1 seed.
Chatman was named SSC Tournament Most Valuable Player with teammate, Paul Kinsella, also receiving all-tournament team honors.
The Tritons then made their second NCAA postseason appearance traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., as the No. 6 seed. They beat Wofford (S.C), 94-82, in the first round before losing to Tampa, 83-61, and dropping the consolation game to Paine (Ga.).
Chatman led the team during the season averaging 19.0 points per game while also grabbing 5.7 rebounds per game. He also received All-SSC Second Team honors. Kinsella and Kerwin Thompson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13.6 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Thompson also led the team defensively with 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
