ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – After trailing by as many as 23 points in the second half, the Eckerd men's basketball team responded with two large runs to pull within five points in the final minute. However, the Tritons were unable to complete the comeback Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center as they fell 90-82 to Embry-Riddle.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Embry-Riddle 90, Eckerd 82
Records: Eckerd 8-18 (4-14 SSC), Embry-Riddle 18-9 (10-9 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- ERAU pulled out to a quick seven-point lead following back-to-back triples by Nick Heard. The Eagles then pushed out to a 13-point lead with 14:58 left. A traditional 3-point play by Kristiyan Stavrev ignited a seven-point run as Eckerd pulled within six at 21-15 two minutes later.
- The Eagles responded with a 13-3 run to take a 16-point lead with under eight minutes left. Eckerd rolled off nine straight points to cut their deficit to 41-32 with 2:41 left before entering halftime down 46-35.
- The Eagles went on an 8-0 run early in the second half to take an 18-point lead with 16:05 left. Five straight points from Myron Hagins followed by a Phillip Cirillo jumper pulled the Tritons within 11. However, Embry-Riddle pulled back out by 17 two minutes later before going up by 23 with just under ten minutes left.
- Eckerd answered to trim the deficit to 13 after a 12-2 run over the next six minutes with Admir Radoncic accounting for seven points in the stretch. With 2:15 left, Eckerd strung together an 11-2 run to pull within five at 83-78 with 52 seconds left. However, the Eagles made five of their next six free throws to prevent EC's comeback.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Travis Bianco (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Hagins (18 points, 12 rebounds) each posted double-doubles. It was the fifth double-double of the season for each.
- Radoncic recorded 21 points in just 19 minutes of action, while Cirillo had 10 points.
- Malcolm Whitlow dished out seven assists.
UP NEXT
Eckerd continues SSC play with a trip to Saint Leo on Wednesday for a 7:30 PM tip.
