TAMPA, Fla. -- The Eckerd Tritons men's basketball team shot 66 percent and out-scored the St. Thomas Aquinas Warriors by 36 points in the opening half on Saturday, eventually picking up a 96-61 victory on day one of the Tampa Classic.
Tim Taiwo was responsible for the first two baskets of the contest and the Tritons jumped out to a 7-4 lead after a three-pointer by
Miquel Llompart. From there, the Tritons put together a 19-3 run that spanned across the next 10 minutes, seeing a pair of triples from Llompart and buckets from six different players. Eckerd held St. Thomas Aquinas to just two made field goals in the final 16 minutes of the half since the 7-4 score and allowed just five for the half at a 25 percent clip. The Tritons hit 21-32 from the floor and 7-2 from behind the three-point line on their way to a 53-17 halftime advantage.
The teams played to a back-and-forth second half, with the Tritons' lead getting as low as 29 early on before hitting 38 around the halfway point following a fastbreak layup by
Brady Patterson that capped off an 11-2 run. Three minutes later, a
Koa Baker layup extended the lead to 40 at 82-42, with
Caden Walton closing out an 11-0 scoring surge moments later with a basket to push the differential out to 44.
Ollie Pasque knocked down a trio of free throws to wrap up the efficient night on offense and end the game at its 35-point margin.Â
The Tritons finished the night at 58 percent from the floor, led by Llompart's 23 points and five made threes. Four others reached double figures, with
Jacob Davis tallying 15 and Taiwo adding 10. Both
Carlos Cortijo and Patterson contributed 11 apiece. Davis led the efforts on the class with nine as Eckerd out-rebounded St. Thomas Aquinas 51-29.
Eckerd improves to 6-4 with the win and will be back in action tomorrow vs. U Indy.Â
