MELBOURNE, Fla. -- The Eckerd Tritons men's basketball team came up short on the road Tuesday night, falling in overtime by a score of 87-85 to the Florida Tech Panthers.
Miquel Llompart answered a pair of free throws by the Panthers with the first made three-pointer of the game to kick off a back-and-forth battle through the first half. Neither team saw a lead eclipse more than four points through the opening 10-plus minutes until a dunk by
Jacob Davis gave the Tritons a 16-11 advantage. Eckerd remained out in front for the next three minutes, but did not see a point scored during that time and Florida Tech eventually went out in front with a layup at 6:17. Four straight free throws by Davis a minute later regained the lead for the Tritons, but the Panthers quickly snatched it back and held the advantage through the final whistle of the half. The differential for Florida Tech reached as many as 11, but two late free throws from
Tim Taiwo trimmed the deficit for Eckerd as the home team brought a 35-26 lead into the halftime break. The Tritons shot just 25 percent in the first 20 minutes compared to Tech's 41 percent mark, but hit all eight of their free throw attempts.
In the second, four points by
Koa Baker and a triple from Llompart highlighted a quick 9-2 run for Eckerd within the first two minutes to pull the team within two at 37-35. Florida Tech answered with eight in a row to extend the cushion back out to double figures and grew it to as many as 13 at the 13-minute mark. The Panthers held a multi-possession lead for the next three minutes, but Taiwo's basket around the halfway point capped off an 11-1 run for the Tritons. Five minutes later, Eckerd secured its first lead of the second half after a three by Baker and from there, the two teams exchanged baskets until it resulted in a 69-69 deadlock. Llompart regained the lead for Eckerd on the next possession before
Wyatt Triestman countered an FIT three with one of his own to put Eckerd up two at 74-72 with two minutes showing on the clock. A pair of free throws from Tech evened the score and the two teams traded 1-2 efforts at the charity stripe in the final minute to stay tied at 75. The Panthers' look on the final possession was off the mark and the two teams headed to overtime.
In the extra session, the Panthers strung together a 5-0 run in the first minute of action and pushed the margin to as many as seven at 84-77 with just 1:45 to go. Triestman cut the gap to four with a three-pointer, followed by a Taiwo offsetting a successful trip to the free throw line from FIT. The Tritons forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and got within three after Taiwo's 1-2 trip to the line, but the Panthers got the point back after the same result on their end. Trailing 87-83, Taiwo's mid-range jumper with 14 seconds left moved the gap down to two, and an empty possession from Florida Tech gave the Tritons one final opportunity to tie or take the lead. Two looks in the paint in the final seconds were off the mark and Florida Tech escaped with the two-point win.
Five players scored in double figures for the Tritons, led by Baker's 21 points. Llompart posted a double double with 18 points and 11 boards, while Taiwo added 17 off the bench. Davis finished with 12 and Triestman added 11.
Eckerd will be back in action on Saturday to face St. Thomas Aquinas in Tampa, Fla.
