DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? For the second time in as many meetings between the Northwood and Embry-Riddle men's basketball teams, Baree Ward topped the scoring column to lead the Seahawks to a 79-77 win over Embry-Riddle, Wednesday at the ICI Center. With the conference title on the line, Ward scored 22 points in the battle between two Top 20 teams, as the 13th-ranked Seahawks improved to 23-6 overall and clinched their second straight Florida Sun Conference regular season title with an 11-2 league record. The Eagles, ranked 15th in the latest NAIA poll, fall to 24-5 overall and 9-4 in the FSC.
Ward was 9-14 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, while Chad Radosevich and DeSean White finished with 16 points each.
The Eagles got 22 points from Denver Cobb who was 4-of-7 from the field and 12-of-12 from the charity stripe. Tyler DeBord contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Eric Lorenzi finished with 17 points and nine boards on the night.
The Eagles took a 40-28 lead at the half behind 12 first-half points from Lorenzi. Northwood led by two early in the first half, but with the exception of tying the score at 20-20 at the 8:28 mark, they were unable to go ahead in the first frame.
The Eagles, who shot 50 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, including two threes each by Lorenzi, Denver Cobb and Danny Deaver, outscored the Seahawks 13-7 over the next five minutes. The defense did not allow Northwood to score over the last 3:26 and the offense closed out the half on a 6-0 run, resulting in the 12 point halftime advantage.
Despite the halftime lead, the Eagles were unable to stifle the Northwood offense for long as the Seahawks went on a 21-8 run to open the second period and took the lead on a Radosevich three-pointer with 12:20 to play.
The Seahawks did not relinquish the lead and went up by eight points with 2:44 left on the clock. At the 1:34 mark, the Eagles forced a turnover and followed with a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game. After two more Northwood free throws, Danny Deaver came off the bench and hit a three to make the score 74-70.
The Eagles began to manage the clock by sending the Seahawks to the free throw line and the gamble paid off as the visitors were able to hit only three of their last six free throws. With the score at 78-74, Tyler DeBord made a layup and a free throw to pull the Blue and Gold within one.
With six seconds left and the Eagles down by two, ERAU inbounded the ball from under the Northwood basket, but as they brought the ball down the court, the referee called the Eagles for traveling, giving the ball back to Northwood with just one second on the clock, effectively sealing the Seahawk win.
The Eagles close out the regular season at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they host Florida Memorial at the ICI Center.
