ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team battled toe-to-toe with No. 1 Nova Southeastern, nearly handing the Sharks their first loss off the season, as Eckerd held an eight-point lead midway through the second half. However, the NSU rallied late as Eckerd fell 88-78 on Senior Night at the McArthur Center Wednesday night.
Both teams struggled offensively in the opening five minutes, with EC holding a 3-2 favor at the 15:41 mark. NSU pushed out to a seven-point lead at the 12:37 mark, but Eckerd responded with a 7-1 run to pull within one, 13-12, with 10 minutes remaining. Back-to-back triples by Mekhi Perry and David Swedura gave EC a one-point advantage. The Sharks pushed back out by seven at the 3:12 mark, but Eckerd followed with a 10-1 run to take a 36-34 lead at the break.
Eckerd started the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 45-36 lead at the 17:02 mark. The Sharks pulled within two five minutes later, but a 7-2 Tritons' run gave EC a 56-49 favor. NSU used a run of 10 straight points to take a four-point lead at the 8:17 mark. A Perry triple and jumper by Daniel Love gave Eckerd a one-point margin, but the Sharks responded with six straight points to take the lead for good as they pulled away in the final minutes.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 88, Eckerd 78
RECORDS: Eckerd 9-16 (6-13 SSC); Nova Southeastern 26-0 (19-0 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- David Swedura led Eckerd with 19 points, while Carr Thiam and Daniel Love rounded out the double figures scorers with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
- Swedura's 19 points set a career-high.
- Love nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds.
- Joshua Galloway, Thiam, and Jordan Kwiecinski grabbed six boards each.
- Love and Swedura grabbed three steals each.
- Eckerd held NSU to a 41.4 field goal percentage, the second-lowest by the Sharks this season.
- EC held NSU to 18 points under their season average.
- Before the game, Eckerd honored its five seniors: Daniel Love, Dante Love, David Swedura, Marcus Marrufo, and Joshua Galloway. The five all started the contest.
UP NEXT
Eckerd concludes the regular season on Saturday at Saint Leo with a 6:00 PM tip.
