ST. PETERSBURG - Rob Eldridge led the Moccasins' second half charge that brought the 17th-ranked Moccasins from a nine-point deficit to an 87-79 Sunshine State Conference road win at Eckerd Wednesday night.
Eldridge scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, as the first-place Moccasins improved to 22-5, 11-2 in the SSC. Eckerd dropped to 11-14, 3-11 in the SSC.
John Thompson notched his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Braxton Williams tossed in 14 points and Terry Jenkins added 13.
John Harper led Eckerd with 16 points off the bench. The Tritons lost their leading scorer, Zaronn Cann (13.2 ppg) just over a minute into the game when he picked up his second technical foul and was ejected.
Eckerd led 43-38 at halftime and built its margin to 52-43 with 15:23 remaining. Williams' second of two free throws with 9:03 to go put the Moccasins ahead and they led the rest of the way.
Saturday the Moccasins entertain Lynn at 7:30 p.m. at Jenkins Field House with a chance to clinch at least a tie for the SSC regular season title.
