Box Score
LAKELAND â€" Wednesday night’s Sunshine State Conference game against Eckerd College was exactly the type of game Florida Southern normally wins: an opponent struggling to reach 50 or 60 points with every basket grudgingly surrendered. On this night, though, Eckerd was able to score enough to get the win instead. Using a 10-1 run to start the second half, and overcoming 30 percent shooting from the floor, the Tritons pulled out a 54-39 decision over the Moccasins.
Both teams were shooting over 50 percent through the first 13 minutes of the game, with Eckerd (6-6, 3-2) holding a 22-20 lead at that point. The rest of the game turned into a defensive struggle, and in the second half, each team made only three field goals. It ended up being the 10th time in 14 games this year Florida Southern held a team to less than 60 points, and it was nearly the fourth time a team scored fewer than 50. Last year, the Mocs held 17 opponents to less than 60, and went 16-1 in those games.
The Tritons, however, who lead the SSC in free throw percentage, went 20-for-22 from the line in the second half, and were 8-for-8 in the final two minutes when they pulled away for the win. All eight of those free throws came from sophomore guard Kayla Bowin, who had not scored prior to that.
Florida Southern (7-7, 2-3) started strong and led 10-4, five minutes into the game. Those points came on five straight possessions after Eckerd had taken a 2-0 lead, and almost every Moccasin starter made a basket during that stretch. Senior Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, NY) made two of them, and though freshman Caitlin Lindsey (Port Charlotte, FL) didn’t make any, she assisted three of them and set one up with a steal.
Eckerd answered with an 8-0 run that featured 3-point field goals by Krystal Charles and Amy Buccilla, taking a 12-10 lead, and the game went back-and-forth for the remainder of the first half. Through the first 20 minutes, there were seven lead changes and six ties, and the final change came when Charles hit another 3-pointer with 12 seconds to play that gave Eckerd a 27-26 lead at the half.
The shooting numbers at halftime included 39 percent from the floor for Eckerd (10-for-26) and 46 percent for Florida Southern (12-for-26). In the second half, Eckerd was 3-for-18 (17 percent), and Florida Southern was 3-for-21 (14 percent). In the first 10 minutes of half number two, there were only three field goals by either team, but the Tritons could only increase their lead from one point to seven.
Charles would then nail a 3-pointer at the 9:45 mark to put Eckerd ahead, 39-29, but freshman Mariah Harris (Gainesville, FL) got the Mocs close again with five straight points and a blocked shot that trimmed the deficit down to five with 7:42 remaining.
Eckerd, though, would score six straight points after that, all on free throws, to re-take a double digit lead for the rest of the night. In fact, Eckerd’s final 15 points all came from the free throw line, with Bowlin making eight of them.
The Moccasins were led by Harris, who made the first start of her career and led all players in the game with 13 points. Harris and senior Alexis Hochstetler (Sarastota, FL) each had eight rebounds, and Harris now has 27 points and 18 rebounds in the last two games. She also blocked three shots against Eckerd as well. Hochstetler and McIntyre scored eight points apiece for the Moccasins, the first time this year McIntyre was held to single digits.
Eckerd got 12 points from both Liga Vente and Rana Thomas, who were a combined 7-for-15 from the floor. The rest of the Triton team was 6-for-29. Charles added 10 points for the Tritons, and was 3-for-6 from 3-point range. Eckerd came into the game leading the SSC in 3-point shooting percentage (in addition to their league-leading free throw percentage), but was only 6-for-23 against the Moccasins, and 1-for-9 in the second half.
The Tritons did, however, shoot 92 percent from the line (22-for-24).
Florida Southern will be at home again on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. when it hosts Palm Beach Atlantic in its final non-conference game of the season.
