ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd men's basketball team fended off a late surge by Saint Leo to take home an 84-81 victory at the McArthur Center on Saturday evening.
Eckerd jumped out to a 10-2 start to the game. The Tritons held a lead between two to seven points through most of the opening period before the Lions took a two-point edge with 3:41 left. Eckerd used a 9-0 run late to take a 37-33 advantage at intermission.
SLU pulled ahead early in the second half as the two teams swapped leads until the 13-minute mark before Eckerd took a two-possession lead and later padded their advantage to eight points. Saint Leo quickly evened the score, but the Tritons regained the lead for good, pushing in front by seven with four minutes left. The Lions pulled within one with 1:08 left, but a George Kimble jumper followed by two Triton free throws sealed the win.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 84, Saint Leo 81
RECORDS: Eckerd 11-8 (6-5 SSC); Saint Leo 8-11 (3-8 SSC)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Isaiah Placide led Eckerd with 22 points. Kimble (15), Carr Thiam (14), and Kent Garard (11) rounded out the double-figure scorers.
- Timothy Thompson led Eckerd on the boards with seven. He also added a pair of blocks.
- Kimble also added four steals.
- Eckerd dished out 23 assists, led by Thiam with eight, while Kimble and Placide had six each.
- The Tritons shot 50.9 percent from the field.
UP NEXT
Eckerd travels to Florida Southern on Wednesday for a 7:30 PM.
