ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – No. 18 Florida Southern men's basketball traveled to the McArthur Center Wednesday and saw the game slip away in the final minutes against the Eckerd Tritons, falling 87-80.
"We knew tonight was going to be a dogfight," Head Coach
Mike Donnelly commented. "Eckerd is a very physical team. They did a good job disrupting our flow and rhythm. It was a hard-fought game, but Eckerd made more winning plays than we did down the stretch. We need to be ready to bounce back on Saturday versus Lynn."
Amare Miller would lead the charge for the Moccasins (18-5, 9-4 SSC) where he scored a new-season-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor. He nearly notched a double-double hauling in a team-high nine rebounds on the night.
Three other Mocs were in double-figures on the night with
Alex Steen scoring 18,
Jadin Booth 17, and
Dominick Denny 13.
Peyton Gerald and
Joe Moon IV scored the only other points for Florida Southern in the seven-point loss. Booth and Steen each tallied seven boards for the night.
Isaiah Placide dropped a game-high 35 points in the win for Eckerd (10-12, 5-9 SSC) on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor which featured four three-pointers, and he added an 11-for-13 mark from the free throw line. Placide had just two points in the first half before going off for 33 to lead the comeback for the Tritons.
Koa Baker would join Placide as the only two players in double-digits for the Tritons. Baker finished with 17 points making eight shots from the floor.
Florida Southern and Eckerd battled toe-to-toe, and both teams had chances to pull away, but the Moccasins owned the largest lead of 10 in both halves. The first half opened tight where it took seven-nine minutes to find more than a three-point separation as the Tritons pushed the gap to five, 17-12.
Florida Southern would answer, take over the lead, and carry it through the remainder of the half. The Mocs saw a double-digit lead, 36-26, capped by an
Amare Miller fast-break two-handed slam from
Dominick Denny late in the period. The Tritons closed the first half with a pair of free throws, the only points from Isaiah Placide, 36-28 FSC.
Eckerd began the second half and chipped away at the lead, cutting it to four 42-38, in the first four minutes of play. Florida Southern would maintain its distance and even go back out in front by 10, 62-52, on a
Peyton Gerald jumper with 9:46 to play.
The Tritons consistently chipped away and eventually recaptured the lead with 2:54 to play on a Placide layup to go up 75-74. Three missed shots and a late turnover cost Florida Southern the late-stage comeback as Eckerd converted a layup and four free throws in the final stretch to go on for the 87-80 win.
No. 18 Florida Southern looks to bounce back quickly as the Moccasins host the Lynn Fighting Knights (14-6, 9-5 SSC) on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. inside the George W. Jenkins Field House.
