SAVANNAH, Ga. ? The third-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team suffered its first Florida Sun Conference loss of the season on Saturday, falling 81-74 to Savannah College of Art & Design. The win gave the Bees their first ever win over the Eagles in 11 tries and improved their record to 9-11 overall and 2-2 in the FSC. The Eagles are now 18-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.
SCAD jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the contest, outscoring the Eagles 11-4 in the first five minutes. After a 30-second timeout by Embry-Riddle head coach Steve Ridder and baskets by Eric Lorenzi and Rocky Pierre and three straight Pierre free throws, the Eagles took a 12-11 lead at 14:27.
But the Bees, fueled by Eze Andrews' 18 first-half points, went on an 8-2 run to build the lead to 10 points. The Eagles battled back, but struggled from the field, shooting only 37.9 percent for the half and turning the ball over nine times, resulting in a 43-36 halftime deficit.
The Bees extended their lead to as many as 16 points in the second half, the largest deficit for ERAU all year. But the Eagles rallied with just over five minutes left and went on a 15-5 run to pull within four with just 36 seconds on the clock.
On the next play, the Eagles trapped Xavier Blain-Cruz in the back court and forced a turnover that led to a Tyler DeBord jumper, making the score 76-74 in favor of the Bees with 36 seconds remaining.
SCAD came up with a steal in the closing seconds of the game to stem the Eagle rally, and Blain-Cruz made up for his miscue, hitting five of six free throws in the last 21 seconds to help the Bees to the win.
Andrews did not have a shot attempt in the last five minutes of the game but still finished as the high scorer with 29 points and nine rebounds. Blain-Cruz had 12 points, eight of which came in the second half, and Chas Johnson (13) and Tim Stammen (10) rounded out the quartet of SCAD players who scored in double digits.
Lorenzi was the high scorer for the Eagles with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while DeBord registered a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. Pierre and Denver Cobb added 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Eagles return to the friendly confines of the ICI Center at 7 p.m. on Wednesday when they host Webber International.
