Men's basketball team opens conference with win

The Eastern Florida State College men's basketball team won its Citrus Conference opener against Florida Southwestern Saturday evening at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.

The 24^th-ranked Titans won their fifth straight game, scoring 11 of the final 13 points to defeat Florida Southwestern 74-68.

Down three with just under three minutes left, Emondrek Erkins-Ford cut the FSW lead to one and Joviel Acevedo-Arroyo gave the Titans a lead with his long jumper with 1:45 left. Corey Caulker hit a huge 3-pointer and the Titans lead was four. Erkins-Ford then blocked a 3-point attempt and with 16 seconds left he iced the game with two big free throws to make it 72-68. Felipe Patino would hit both his free throws at the end of the game to make it 74.

Eastern Florida State College jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first half but the Bucs kept things close and with under three minutes left in the half, took a 34-33 lead. But the Titans responded as Efe Tahmaz, Caulker and Patino each hit 3-pointers in the final two minutes to give the Titans a 43-36 lead into halftime.

Erkins-Ford finished with a career-high 28 points in the game, 18 coming in the pivotal second half. The sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds and had a couple of blocks in the win. It is his second 20-plus point effort this season and has scored at least 12 points in every game this season for the Titans.

Acevedo-Arroyo also had his best game of the season, scoring 12 points off the bench as the guard hit five of his six shots including two 3-pointers in the win. Teammate Corey Caulker finished with 10 points as the Titans picked up their 12th win of the season.

Eastern Florida State College will host St. Petersburg College Wednesday night at Titan Field House. The Citrus Conference matchup will tip off around7:30 p.m. following the women's game and admission is free. Fans can also watch the game live online at the EFSC Titans YouTube page.