DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Senior
Tyler DeBord scored a season-high 28 points to lead the 11th ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team to a 98-77 win over Wisconsin Lutheran in the championship game of the Bahama House/Best Western Aku Tiki Shootout, Saturday at the ICI Center. DeBord was named the tournament MVP as the Eagles improved to 14-2 overall in their final tune-up before conference play.
The game started off at a frenetic pace as both teams played with high intensity at both ends of the floor. The Warriors got on the board first courtesy of a three-pointer by Kyle Madson. The Eagles responded by rattling off 13 straight to take a 13-3 lead just under five minutes into the contest. Embry-Riddle led by as many as 12 points in the half, but Wisconsin Lutheran forced 14 Eagle turnovers and hit five threes to reduce the deficit to just three points with just under a minute left in the half.
Eric Lorenzi hit his first of two 3-pointers right before time expired to give ERAU a 45-39 cushion heading into the halftime break.
The Warriors started off the second half the same way they started the game, with a three-pointer, this time by All-Tournament selection Kyle Plath, to make the score 45-42. But once again, the Eagles answered with a double-digit run outscoring the Warriors 14-3 over the next three minutes to take a 14 point lead.
Wisconsin Lutheran, who shot 41.4 percent from beyond the arc, looked to the three point line to find success and with seven threes in the second half, they closed the gap to 61-57 with 11:16 left on the clock. But the Eagles withstood the barrage and behind DeBord's 16 second-half points and a strong defensive effort that forced 10 Warrior turnovers, they held the visitors to just three field goals in the last seven minutes en route to the 21 point win.
Lorenzi and
Glenn Dalcourt both earned All-Tournament honors, with Lorenzi tallying 18 points and nine rebounds and Dalcourt totaling 15 points and nine boards. Baruch's Steven Bader and Covenant's Stephen Buchanan rounded out the All-Tournament team.
Plath finished the night with 17 points and four rebounds, while Madson added 14 points and five assists to the Warrior effort. The Warriors are now 4-5 on the year.
The Eagles begin a very competitive schedule in The Sun Conference at 7 p.m. on Wednesday when they travel to Miami to take on St. Thomas. The Sun Conference currently has two teams ranked among the nation's top 25 in Northwood (3) and Embry-Riddle (11), while Warner and Edward Waters are currently among those receiving votes.
