Box Score Seth Evans sank a pair of three-pointers to trigger a 10-1 run in the final five minutes that helped power the Moccasins to a 76-61 Sunshine State Conference win over Eckerd Wednesday night at Jenkins Field House.
The Moccasins and Tritons had entered their first game of 2012 with identical records and for almost 34 minutes had essentially matched each other basket for basket. The game was tied at 34-34 at halftime and neither team had a lead of more than four points in the second half until Evans' back-to-back three-pointers at the 4:47 mark and the 4:13 mark opened up an eight-point advantage that the Tritons never recovered from.
Evans finished with six three pointers for the night and a game-high 22 points. He also was 4-4 from the free throw line to raise his SSC-leading free throw percentage to 94.4 (51-54). Joining Evans in double figures for the Moccasins were Dominic Lane with 13 and Brett Bailey with 10. Cameron Vines and Kevin Capers added nine and eight points, respectively, plus four assists each off the bench.
The win was the Moccasins' 19th straight home SSC win at Jenkins Field House and boosted their record for 8-3, 2-1 in the SSC. Eckerd slipped to 7-4, 1-2 in the SSC.
Defensively the Moccasins held the SSC's third-best scoring team to 20 points under its season average. The Tritons came into the game leading the SSC in field goal percentage, but shot just 34% (16-47) against the Moccasins and made just one of 11 three-pointers while committing 28 turnovers.
Alex Bodney went 15-16 from the free throw line, making his first 15 before missing his final attempt, to lead Eckerd with 19 points. Lance Kearse notched a double-double for the Tritons with 10 points and 12 rebounds, but he'd been averaging 19.4 points per game coming into the contest.
The Tritons did have a sizeable edge on the boards, outrebounding the Moccasins 44-31.
The Moccasins are on the road Saturday for a 4 p.m. game at Nova Southeastern.
