ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team nearly pulled off a double-digit second-half comeback, pulling within two in the final seconds. However, the Tritons could not complete the rally falling to Tampa, 80-76, at the McArthur Center Wednesday night.
The teams swapped baskets throughout the first half, with Eckerd maintaining a slim edge throughout. The Tritons pushed out to a four-point lead three times in the half before entering the break tied at 37-37.
Tampa started the second stanza on an 8-2 run to take a six-point lead. The Spartans pushed their lead to seven, but Eckerd followed with seven straight points to tie the game at 49-49 with 12:37 remaining. UT later used a 6-0 run to take a 67-57 favor. EC followed with a 7-1 run to pull within four at the 2:34 mark. EC pulled within three late on a Mekhi Perry triple, and a Daniel Love basket with four seconds left brought Eckerd within one, but EC was unable to complete the comeback.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Tampa 80, Eckerd 76
RECORDS: Eckerd 9-14 (6-11 SSC); Tampa 8-15 (7-10 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- With a layup at the 3:37 mark, Daniel Love reached the 1,000 career point milestone. He reaches the benchmark between his time at Eckerd and Mercer with 807 points coming as a Triton.
- Love led Eckerd with 24 points, while Carr Thiam added 19 points to round out the double-figure scorers. They both grabbed two steals each.
- Mekhi Perry chipped in nine points off the bench.
- Kent Garard led Eckerd on the boards with eight rebounds. Thiam added six.
- Eckerd shot 46.7 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
Eckerd travels to Rollins on Saturday for a 4:00 PM tip.
