ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team fended off a second-half rally by Barry to beat the Buccaneers, 80-79, at the McArthur Center Sunday afternoon. Eckerd had a one-point lead in the final minute and forced BU to take an off-balance 3-point shot to seal the victory.
Barry jumped out to a 7-2 favor early, but Eckerd rallied to take a 10-9 lead. The teams traded baskets before the Tritons went on a 13-5 run to take a six-point edge at the 7:04 mark. Eckerd stretched its lead to 10 on a Kent Garard jumper with 1:38 left before taking a 50-42 lead into the break.
The Tritons maintained a comfortable favor for the opening six minutes of the second frame before Barry went on an 11-1 run to take a 63-62 lead with 9:44 left. EC and BU traded baskets for the next few minutes before Eckerd pushed in front by six with three minutes left. Barry responded with seven consecutive points to take a 79-78 favor. However, Will Willard made a pair of free throws to give Eckerd a one-point edge with 1:12 left. Eckerd's defense pressured down the stretch, forcing Barry to miss five attempts, including an off-balance shot from the wing at the buzzer to seal the win.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 80, Barry 79
RECORDS: Eckerd 7-5 (2-2 SSC); Barry 7-4 (0-3 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
UP NEXT
Eckerd travels to Lynn on Wednesday for a 7:30 PM tipoff.
