Men's basketball suffers first loss vs. Anderson

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons men's basketball team was defeated at home on Tuesday by the Anderson Trojans, falling by a score of 78-64.

It was a slow start for the Tritons after the visitors raced out to a 15-4 cushion. The lead for the Trojans grew out to as many as 17 points around the halfway point of the opening period, but a quick 7-2 run from Eckerd closed the gap back down to 12. A three-pointer by Caden Walton brought the Tritons to 11 before Wyatt Triestman's lay in with just over a minute remaining moved the differential to 10, but a bucket by Anderson closed out the scoring in the first half and made it a 41-29 lead for the Trojans at the break. 

Anderson saw another big start to the second half, scoring the first nine points to make it a 21-point margin. After fighting to inch closer, the Tritons saw five straight made free throws by Koa Baker shrink the gap to 13 around the nine-minute mark. Triestman's three-pointer two minutes later got Eckerd within 12, but the team was unable to get any closer the rest of the way. 

The Tritons saw success off the bench despite the loss, posting 25 points from non-starters, including 10 from Jacob Davis and seven from Walton. Brady Patterson also added five points and a pair of assists, while Baker was the team's top scorer with 19 points and also nine rebounds. 

Eckerd will be back in action on Saturday at Barry.