ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Following a tight contest at the McArthur Center, Eckerd had the final look, trailing by one with 10 seconds left. The Tritons' initial shot fell short, but Daniel Love scooped up the offensive rebound and knocked down the game-winner at the buzzer to lead the Eckerd men's basketball team past Palm Beach Atlantic, 71-70, Saturday afternoon.
Eckerd jumped out to an early 14-7 favor, but the Sailfish responded with a 9-2 run to even the score at the 9:17 mark. EC pushed back in front by five a few minutes later before taking a 34-33 advantage in the break.
A 6-0 run early in the second half put EC up by eight, 47-39, at the 15:44 mark. The Tritons held the lead for the next eight minutes before PBA rolled off eight straight points to take a 62-59 edge with 5:30 left.
The Sailfish stayed in front until a pair of Love free throws gave Eckerd a 67-66 edge at the 1:47 mark. After a Carr Thiam layup with 37 seconds left gave EC a two-point favor, the Sailfish made a triple for a one-point advantage with 13 seconds left. After the timeout, Love found an open Kent Garard at the free-throw line, but his shot hit the front off the rim. Love collected the offensive board and hit the game-winner with an off-balanced fadeaway shot.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 71, Palm Beach Atlantic 70
RECORDS: Eckerd 7-10 (4-7 SSC); PBA 8-9 (4-7 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Love led EC with 21 points while three other Tritons logged double figures: Kent Garard (12), Carr Thiam (11), and Roque Rosario (10).
- Rosario nearly posted a double-double, adding a career-high nine rebounds.
- Love also added three steals.
- Dante Bouchard and Thiam dished out four assists each.
- Eckerd shot 45.8 percent from the field.
- Eckerd and PBA split the series, with each team winning at home.
- Love's final shot was his second career buzzer-beating game-winner.
UP NEXT
Eckerd travels to Lynn on Wednesday for a 7:30 PM tip.
