TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. ? The 16th-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team completed the season sweep of Florida College with a 72-61 win over the Falcons on the road on Tuesday. The Eagles remain undefeated at 4-0 on the year, while Florida College falls to 1-4.
After making just one of their first four shot attempts, the Eagles outscored the Falcons 16-5 over the next eight minutes to take a 13-point lead. The middle part of the first half was characterized by end-to-end action, but the Eagles went through a three-minute stretch where they were unable score, which allowed the Falcons, led by 12 first-half points from Dantavis Adkins, to cut the lead to one with 5:29 left in the half. A jumper by Denver Cobb with 4:30 remaining ended the Eagles scoring drought, and despite shooting just 37.8 percent in the first half, the Blue and Gold had a 34-29 lead at the break.
The early part of the second half was marked by sloppy play, including a series of six straight turnovers by both teams combined. But the Eagles regained their focus and built the lead back up to 11 with just under 12 minutes left to play.
A scrappy Florida College team, led by two three-pointers each from Adkins and Jesse Hastings, continued to battle hard and cut the lead to five late in the second frame, but the Eagles took advantage of five trips to the charity stripe in the last 1:40 and controlled the offensive boards down the stretch to hold off the Falcons and walk away with the win.
Cobb led all scorers with 20 points on 8-14 shooting, while Eric Lorenzi added 16 points and DeBord registered the game's only double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Adkins led the Falcons' scoring effort with 18 points followed by Ian Jones with 11 and Hastings with eight.
The Eagles begin a four-game stretch against NAIA I opponents on Friday when they travel to Helena, Mont. to play in the Carroll College Classic. ERAU will face Montana Western at 2 p.m. (MST) on Friday and will take on host Carroll at 8 p.m. (MST) on Saturday.