FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team hung close with the nationally-ranked Sharks in the first half but were unable to complete the upset, falling to No. 2 Nova Southeastern, 107-87, Saturday afternoon at Rick Case Arena.
After a tight opening three minutes, NSU went on a 24-6 run to take a 31-15 advantage with 10:00 minutes left in the first half. The Tritons responded with a large 28-6 run to even the score at 45-45 with 1:09 remaining before the Sharks took a 48-45 lead at the break. EC held NSU without a field goal for the final 4:32 of the half.
A quick five points by Daniel Love to start the second half gave EC a 50-48 favor. The Sharks responded with nine consecutive points to take the lead, 63-58. The Tritons managed to pull within three on a Kent Garard layup at the 13:53 mark. However, the Sharks responded with a 9-2 run to take a double-digit favor as they cruised the rest of the way to a 107-87 victory.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 2 Nova Southeastern 107, Eckerd 87
RECORDS: Eckerd 3-13 (1-12 SSC); No. 2 Nova Southeastern 18-0 (12-0 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Four Tritons reached double-figures: Love (25), Gianfranco Grafals (22), David Swedura (13), and Garard (10).
- Love's career-high 35 points are the most by a Triton since Myron Hagins scored 35 against American International on December 20, 2019.
- Love went 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. He also went 11-for-17 from the field.
- Love rounded out his stat line with seven boards and six assists.
- Both Love and Grafals have scored 20-plus points for the past four consecutive games.
- Since making his way into the starting lineup, Garard has scored in double-figures each game, averaging 12.0 points.
- Eckerd shot a season-high 59.3 percent from the field. The best mark in a single game since shooting 61.2 percent against Florida Tech on December 2, 2017.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center, hosting Tampa on Wednesday at 7:30 PM.
