In a game which the Tritons led for nearly the entire first half, Leon Douglas' Golden Tigers found away to take a one-point halftime lead, and Tuskegee would use this to boost momentum to pull away from Eckerd College late Thursday night in picking up a 71-63 victory in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tuskegee (3-5 overall) took their 11th and final lead of the game right at the five-minute mark of the second half, when Charles Savoy scored on a layup in which he was fouled by Ray Darnell.  After hitting the free-throw, Tuskegee took a lead that they would never relinquish at 62-60.  The Golden Tigers managed to hold the Tritons (5-4 overall) to just 21 percent shooting from the field in the second half. 

Eckerd also struggled at the free throw line all night.  The home team managed to shoot a season-high 41 free throws, but managed to make only 28 of them.  Tuskegee, which only had four free-throw attempts in the first half, shot from the charity stripe 21 times after coming out of the locker room.  The Golden Tigers his 14 of those free throws in the second half.

Richard Dixon had a game-high 19 points, and was just one rebound shy of a double-double.  Elliot Dean was the only other TU player to score in double-figures, as he finished with 11 points.  Tuskegee also dominated the game in bench scoring, as TU's reserves outscored Eckerd's by a count of 44-6.

The men's basketball team has one final game before the Christmas holiday, playing against Florida Southern University in Lakeland this Sunday.  The Golden Tigers will open up 2014 with an early morning game against Morehouse College inside the friendly confines of the Daniel 'Chappie' James Center.  The old SIAC rivals will tipoff at 11:05 a.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on the CBS Sports Network.  Admission to the game is free to the general public.