ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team used a pair of runs early in the second half, outscoring the Sailfish 22-10 over a dominant 12-minute stretch, to defeat Palm Beach Atlantic, 85-77, Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center.
Eckerd and PBA played a fairly even first half, with neither team able to generate more than a two-possession lead. A Daniel Love dunk with 11:16 left gave EC its largest lead of the first half at seven (24-17). PBA cut the deficit to one point minutes later, and the teams swapped leads over the final eight minutes before entering intermission tied 40-40.
The Tritons rolled off nine consecutive points early in the second stanza to take a 53-45 favor. EC later used a run of seven straight points to take a 12-point advantage at the 8:13 mark. EC took its largest lead, 76-60, at the 3:54 mark. PBA rallied late with a 14-4 run to cut their deficit to six points (80-74) with 31 seconds left, but EC made its free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 85, Palm Beach Atlantic 77
RECORDS: Eckerd 4-14 (2-13); Palm Beach Atlantic 6-15 (4-9 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Gianfranco Grafals led Eckerd with 21 points. Kent Garard (19), Daniel Love (17), and David Swedura (14) rounded out the double-figure scorers.
- Garard also posted his second career double-double with 11 rebounds. His 19 points set a career-high while his 11 boards tied his career-best.
- Swedura and Grafals added seven boards each.
- Love nearly added a double-double as well with a career-high nine assists. He added to his stat line with a career-high five steals.
- Swedura also grabbed four steals.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of our team. I thought we played a very good game tonight, and they deserved to win," said head coach Bryan Galuski '98.
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center on Wednesday to cap its three-game homestand, hosting Rollins at 7:30 PM.
