MIAMI, Fla. ? In 2007, Embry-Riddle and Florida Memorial faced each other three times on the basketball court. In all three meetings, the Lions were the victors, winning by no more than five points, including the championship game of the Florida Sun Conference tournament when they edged the Eagles by two. But Wednesday night belonged to the fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle (16-1, 1-0) men who defeated the Lions (7-7, 0-1) 79-75 in overtime in their Florida Sun Conference opener.
The Eagles got a two-point advantage before the first tip as Denver Cobb hit a pair from the free throw line following an FMU infraction during the warm-ups. Immediately after, Cobb blocked the Lions' first shot attempt and then raced down to the other end of the floor to bury a three-point basket and put the Eagles up 5-0.
Tyler DeBord, who had his fourth double-double of the year with 22 points and 15 rebounds, scored the next five points on a lay-up and a three-pointer of his own to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead.
The Lions were down but not out as their defense forced five Eagle turnovers over the next seven minutes, while the offense tied the score at 12-12 with 9:57 left in the half.
Embry-Riddle reclaimed the lead at the 9:12 mark, thanks in part to DeBord who scored 12 of the Eagles' first 19 points. The game stayed close over the remainder of the half with the Eagles taking a slim 29-26 lead into the locker room.
The Eagles stayed ahead for most of the second period, leading by as many as six points.
With 5:07 left in regulation, reigning FSC Player of the Year Tramaine Stevens hit a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 56-56. The Lions soon forged ahead, courtesy of four straight trips to the free throw line, and with 25 ticks left on the clock, they held a five-point lead.
With 20 seconds left, Rocky Pierre was fouled and after making the first of two free throws he missed the second, but Eric Lorenzi was on hand to pull down the defensive rebound and stick the put-back to make it a two-point game.
Another free throw put the Lions up 66-63 with 12 seconds on the clock. It took the Eagles six seconds to get the ball down the court after the free throw and Pierre kicked the ball out to Danny Deaver on the right. Deaver hit perhaps his biggest three-pointer of the season right in front of the Eagle bench to tie the score and send the game into overtime.
Both teams traded baskets to begin five-minute overtime period, which saw two ties and three lead changes. With 48 seconds left Lorenzi hit his only three-pointer of the game to put the Blue and Gold up 74-73. Ryan Ridder thwarted the Lions next offensive attempt with a steal and Cobb increased the lead to three points with a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left.
Stevens had a chance to tie the game again from the charity stripe, but he missed the free throw and a few seconds later, he missed a three-pointer. Cobb grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled and with one second on the clock. The night ended as it started with Cobb going two-for-two at the free throw line for the win.
Cobb finished the night with 19 points, while Pierre had 20 points and five assists. Lorenzi had eight points, but was most effective on the boards, finishing with 14 rebounds.
Andre Thomas was the leading scorer for the Lions with 18 and Stevens added 14 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.
ERAU returns to the ICI Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they host conference opponent Edward Waters.
