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Eckerd men's basketball is pushover no more

 
Jerrick Stevenson, a senior who plays guard and forward, is helping lead a turnaround at Eckerd this season. He is averaging 11.4 points per game.  
Jerrick Stevenson, a senior who plays guard and forward, is helping lead a turnaround at Eckerd this season. He is averaging 11.4 points per game. 
Published Feb. 11, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG

Most men's basketball seasons, Eckerd College is just another team on an opponent's schedule.

This is not most seasons.

After losing the first game of the season by 10 points to Delta State, the Tritons (18-5 entering the week) rattled off 16 straight wins, including seven straight against Sunshine State Conference opponents. That was the longest win streak in school history.

Despite losing three of its past four games, Eckerd is 9-3 in the conference, a half game behind Barry. Barring a collapse, the Tritons should return to the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

And for the first time in a long time, Eckerd is one of the teams to beat in the conference, not just a pushover.

"That's the reputation we have," senior Jerrick Stevenson said. "People just don't think highly of us. They do now. You've got to respect us."

And lately, Eckerd's winning has made for some pretty tough road trips.

"It seems like every time we go on the road there is some special fan night," said Marco Behori, a Seminole High grad who is a freshman this season. "The gym is always packed. At least the last three road games the fans have had on the same T-shirts. It's been a big deal. We need to start handling it better."

Eckerd is currently ranked 16th in the latest Division II coaches poll. Even in that poll the Tritons don't get much respect. They are listed as "Eckherd." During the win streak, Eckerd was as high as fifth in the rankings.

A main reason for this season's success is a group of four seniors. Forward Ray Darnell, guard E.J. Moody, guard/forward Stevenson and guard Kendall Roberts have been together since they were freshmen.

Moody averages 8.7 points per game, although he scored 32 last week in a loss to Rollins. Stevenson is at 11.4 points per game. Darnell and Roberts are contributors off the bench.

"We've been together for four straight years now," Darnell said. "We knew we had a solid leadership core. We've added some really good freshmen. There was a good vibe."

It's not just the seniors who have paced the Tritons. Junior Kevin Walsh is right at 11 points per game, freshman Drushaun McLaurn leads the team with 12.2, and sophomore Trevon Young is just under 10.

Behori's game time has increased as he has adjusted to the next level.

"College basketball is a lot faster and the players are stronger," Behori said. "It took awhile to adjust, and at the beginning of the year I was struggling. But all the players here give me confidence. They knew I could play. My role is to bring some energy and play defense."

The mix of young and veteran players has coach Tom Ryan optimistic. Eckerd won only 12 games last season, but he figured with the experience returning the Tritons had a chance to be better. He just didn't think they'd be this good.

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"When the (preseason) rankings came out they picked us fifth or sixth," Ryan said. "I saw us as middle of the pack, so that was about right. Then we start winning games and we're 9-0 in the league. Wow. We're pretty good."

Ryan said opponents may not have taken the Tritons seriously early in the season. They are being taken seriously now, which has made winning much tougher.

"Once we got ranked fifth in the country, we started to get people's best shot," Darnell said. "We're a mature group, but I don't think we were equipped for people coming right at us. We weren't accustomed to being the top dog."

While Eckerd is currently slumping, there is still time to make a late-season run. There are four more conference games, including the season finale against first-place Barry.

After that comes the conference tournament at Embry-Riddle, then the regional tournament. Eckerd is trying to better the 2003 team, which made it to the Elite Eight in the national tournament.

Since the start of the season, talk in the locker room has been about doing something special, not just winning a conference championship, but a national one.

"We've talked multiple times about how we want to have our pictures in the gym," Darnell said. "We want to hang a banner. We've been on some really good tournament teams but we were reserves. It didn't feel like it was our thing. Now we have the keys. We want to be the reason there is a banner hanging."

Contact Rodney Page at rpage@tampabay.com. Follow @RodneyHomeTeam.