DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team closed out the 2007-08 slate on a high note with a 78-70 win over defending Florida Sun Conference tournament champion Florida Memorial in the regular season finale on Saturday. The Eagles, currently ranked 15th nationally, wrapped up second place in the FSC with a 10-4 league record and are now 25-5 overall.

The Eagles had four starters score in double figures as Tyler DeBord put up 17 points, Rocky Pierre posted 19 points and Denver Cobb finished with 15 points. Ryan Ridder, who was honored during Senior Night activities prior to the start of the contest, scored 10 points on the night, just one point shy of his season best. Eric Lorenzi led the way on the boards, pulling down 11 rebounds.

The Eagles jumped out to a 45-29 halftime lead as Pierre exploded for 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line.

After falling behind by five points early in the first half, the Eagles tied things up at 12-12 with 16:07 left on Pierre's first three of the night. The junior's second three ignited a 21-7 run over the next nine minutes to give the Blue and Gold a 15-point cushion. Both teams traded points over the last six and a half minutes resulting in the 16-point Eagle lead at the half

The second half saw reigning FSC Player of the Year Tramaine Steven erupt for 19 of his game-high 27 points. The Lions outscored the Eagles 21-13 over a 12-minute stretch to pull within two with 7:38 remaining. But the Eagles remained cool under pressure and built the lead back up to 12 with just 48 seconds on the clock.

Florida Memorial continued to fight as Stevens and Reginald Thomas put up back-to-back threes to cut the Eagle lead to six with 22 ticks remaining. But the Eagle defense was solid in the closing seconds of the game, not allowing another Lion point, and Cobb drained a pair of free throws at the end to seal the eight-point win.

By clinching the second place in the FSC, the Eagles will host a first-round game in the FSC Tournament on Tuesday. Their opponent will be Webber International and tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the ICI Center. The FSC Tournament champion receives an automatic berth in the NAIA National Championship in Branson, Mo., Mar. 12-18.