DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NCAA Division III Macalaster (Minn.) opened its season in strong fashion with an impressive 87-85 road victory at No. 5 Embry-Riddle University Saturday afternoon.

The visitors long-range shooting assault was a decisive factor as the Scots converted 13-for-24 from three-point land at a 54.2 percent clip. This deft touch from downtown translated into a 45-32 halftime advantage.

Macalaster maintained their double-digit advantage throughout the second half, leading by as many as 16 on an opening three-pointer by Lars Johnson taking a 48-32 lead. The Scots led by 15 with 4:41 to go, but Embry-Riddle's defense buckled down forcing four turnovers and three missed shots, while the offense heated up going on a 19-8 run over the final four minutes to trim the margin to 85-82 with 39 seconds to go in the contest capped off by a Tyler DeBord layup. Denny Joseph scored seven of his 12 points in the game during the run, while DeBord finished with 14 points and 12 boards.

The Eagles fouled Scots' Jesse Hollander on their next possession and he converted both charity attempts to rebuild a five-point advantage 87-82. Ryan Exter, who finished with 19 points, hit his fourth three-pointer of the day with 16 ticks left to breathe new life into the Eagles' comeback cutting the lead to 87-85.

Then another foul by the Blue and Gold put Macalaster's Brad Liddell on the free throw line for two shot with a chance to ice the game with 12 seconds to go, but he missed both opportunities giving the Eagles a final possession to tie or win the game. DeBord rebounded the second Liddell miss and ERAU worked the same play that freed Ryan Exter for a three-point attempt, but this time Exter lost the ball ending the game with one second.

Tom Conboy led all scores with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Abe Woldeslassie popped for 13 points (three three-pointers) and added nine assists, Liddell finished with 17 points (four long-range buckets), Brian Ranwick converted 4-of-7 from downtown for 16 points and Hollander closed out the Scots' in double-figures with 11 points.

The Eagles are idle until Nov. 28th at 7 p.m., when they travel to arch-rival Flagler (Fla.), but with less importance than in past years as the Saints are now members of NCAA Division II.