MELBOURNE, Fla. - [PDF Bracket | Championship Central] - The Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal match-ups will tip off on Saturday, March 3rd. Tournament semifinals and finals will be hosted by Florida Southern College at Jenkins Field House in Lakeland. All games will be streamed live on Sunshine Digital Network.
Semifinal #1 | Location: Jenkins Field House - Lakeland | Time: 12:00 PM
No. 1 seed Barry University (19-7, 14-6) vs. No. 4 Rollins College (16-13, 11-9)
How They Got There:
Barry defeated No. 8 seeded Florida Tech, 102-83, in Miami Shores. Five players scored in double figures for the Buccaneers as they moved one win closer to their fourth straight 20-win season. BU's Elvar Fridriksson led all scorers in the game with 23 points and also had seven assists. (
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Rollins hosted and defeated No. 5 Nova Southeastern University, 78-75. A Jeff Merton steal with 10 seconds to play proved to be the pivotal play as Rollins picked up the victory over NSU. Jeff Merton led the way for the Tar's, pouring in 18 points dishing out four assists and grabbing four rebounds. Five Rollins players scored in double figures. (
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Matchup
Barry and Rollins split the regular season series in 2017-18. Barry drew first blood with a 103-91 victory in Miami Shores on December 2nd. Rollins countered with a 94-82 win in Winter Park on January 20th.
Players to Watch
Fridriksson, SSC Player of the Year, guided Barry to their fourth regular season championship and the conference semifinals. Fridriksson is averaging 20.1 points and 7.3 assists per game. Rollins is led by the All-SSC Second Team duo of Jeff Merton and Sam Philpott. Merton is averaging 15.8 points and 4.2 rebounds, while Philpott is averaging 18.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Semifinal #2 | Location: Jenkins Field House - Lakeland | Time: 2:30 PM
No. 2 seed Eckerd College (22-6, 14-6) vs. No. 3 seed Florida Southern College (20-9, 13-7).
How They Got There:
Eckerd defeated No. 7 seeded Palm Beach Atlantic University, 83-65, in St Petersburg. Keshawn Ingram (19 points, 8 rebounds) and Trevon Young (16 points, 12 rebounds) led the Tritons in the victory. (
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Florida Southern College battled to defeat No. 6 seeded Lynn University, 80-70, in Lakeland. Jonathan Lawton had 24 points while Brett Hanson poured in 23 for the Moccasins. (
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Matchup
Eckerd and Florida Southern split the regular season series in 2017-18. The Tritons won in St. Petersburg on November 29th, 71-67, while the Moccasins won in overtime by a score of 100-96 in Lakeland on January 31st. The Tritons and Moccasins met in the SSC tournament last season in a quarterfinal game where Eckerd escaped with an 88-72 victory.
Players to Watch
Lawton earned 2017-18 All-SSC First Team honors following a season where he averaged 21.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Eckerd boasts an All-SSC First Team duo in Young and Drushaun McLaurn. McLaurn is averaging 18.6 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds and Young, a dominant force inside for the Tritons, is averaging 17.6 points per game to go along with 9.8 rebounds.
Tournament Information:
The 2018 Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Championship semifinals will be Saturday, March 3rd, finals tip off on Sunday, March 4th. Both men's and women's semifinals and finals will be held at the
George Jenkins Fieldhouse on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. The tournament was held at ICI Center last year after three years at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Prior to Silver Spurs Arena, the tournaments were held at member institutions from 2002 to 2012.
Please contact SSC Assistant Commissioner Robert Brennecke with any questions or media inquiries.