WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Eckerd Tritons men's basketball team came up short on the road against the No. 12 ranked Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, falling by a score of 71-62.
Eckerd had a strong opening half on its way to a 35-28 halftime lead. The Tritons scored the first six points of the game and held the Sailfish scoreless for the opening two minutes of action. A defensive battle ensued, with Eckerd pushing its advantage back out to six following another 6-0 spurt.
A three-pointer from Tim Taiwo stretched the lead to seven with 12:33 to play, but eight consecutive points from PBA gave the home team its first lead at 14-13. The two teams continued to battle back and forth, with neither side holding a lead of more than one possession until a three by Brady Patterson put the Tritons ahead 25-20. The basket came in the middle of a 9-0 run for Eckerd to go ahead by nine, a lead the Tritons held three different times in the final three minutes of the half. Eckerd carried a 35-28 advantage into the break after shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc and holding the Sailfish to 34 percent shooting overall.
Palm Beach Atlantic opened the second half with the first two baskets to pull within four, but a Jacob Davis layup and a pair of free throws from Koa Baker kept the Tritons ahead by six in the opening minutes. The Sailfish continued to shoot efficiently and eventually evened the score at 40 before extending the run to 19 unanswered points to take a 54-40 advantage. A Davis basket later in the half trimmed the deficit to single digits, but the Tritons were unable to get the margin under nine the rest of the way.
Davis led the Tritons with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Taiwo added 12 points, seven boards, two steals, and a block.Â
Eckerd will return home to host Saint Leo on Wednesday.Â
