ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team battled back-and-forth with Saint Leo Wednesday night at the McArthur Center as the teams swapped runs throughout the second half. However, the Tritons ultimately fell, 68-66, as their last-second shot to tie the game narrowly missed.
The Tritons used a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead with 12:48 left in the half. The Lions cut the Tritons' lead to four with under two minutes remaining, but EC ended the half on a 5-1 stretch to take a 38-30 lead at the break.
A Gianfranco Grafals layup to open the second half gave Eckerd a double-digit lead for the next three minutes. However, Saint Leo scored 12 consecutive points over the next four minutes to even the score at 49-49. The Tritons rolled off six straight points to regain the lead, but the Lions responded with a 14-0 run to take a 63-55 lead with 4:29 remaining.
With 1:07 remaining, Grafals hit a jumper as EC forced a Lions' turnover. David Swedura then knocked down a triple to pull Eckerd within two. Saint Leo missed the back end of its free throws as the Tritons looked to equalize with seven seconds remaining. However, Kent Garard's 3-point attempt narrowly missed.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Saint Leo 68, Eckerd 66
RECORDS: Eckerd 1-5 (0-2 SSC); Saint Leo 4-3 (1-1 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Grafals led Eckerd with 23 points.
- Joshua Galloway also posted double-digit figures with 14 points.
- Galloway led EC on the boards with eight while Swedura added five.
- Daniel Love dished out five assists while grabbing three steals.
- EC shot 40.0 percent from the field compared to SLU's 44.7 percent.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center on Saturday, hosting Nova Southeastern at 4:00 PM.
