MIAMI, Fla. ? The ninth-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team overcame a three-point halftime deficit to top St. Thomas 69-67 in the Eagles' first game of the 2008-09 Sun Conference slate. Senior Tyler DeBord paced the Eagles with 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Blue and Gold improved its overall record to 15-2 on the year.

The Eagles got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0 before scoring their first basket of the game at the 17:59 mark. Hounded by the Bobcat defense, the Eagles committed eight of their 12 turnovers in the first half and made good on only two of their first seven shots in the first seven minutes of play. A 7-0 run put the Eagles ahead by one with 10:52 left in the half, but at the halftime break it was St. Thomas who had a 29-26 lead.

The intermission served to ignite the Eagle offense, which outscored the Bobcats 11-0 to start the second half. Embry-Riddle led by 10 with 12:32 left to play, but a jumper by Ian Gregory keyed a 7-0 run that pulled the Bobcats to within three with 11:07 remaining.

Over the next two and a half minutes, neither team was able to put points up on the scoreboard. The game's leading scorer, Antonio Jones finally knocked the lid off the rim with a three-pointer to tie the score at 49-49 with 8:47 left to play. Layups by Ray Graham, Denver Cobb (20 points, 7 rebounds) and a long-range shot by Danny Deaver allowed the Eagles to pull ahead by six at the six-minute mark. They maintained the six-point cushion until a three and back-to-back free throws by Jones and a lay-up by Cesar Jacobo Chavez pulled St. Thomas to within a point at 63-64.

With 1:29 left on the clock, Danny Krazit brought the ball down the court and got it to Glenn Dalcourt who found DeBord just outside the paint. DeBord's touch pass found Eric Lorenzi who in turn found Denver Cobb out on the right and Cobb drained his fourth three pointer of the night to put the Eagles up by four.

The Bobcats' three-point attempt at the other end of the floor bounced off the rim and into the hands of Tracy Razz who was fouled by Krazit on the play. Razz converted on a pair of free throws, and after the Eagles were unable to convert from the charity stripe on their next possession, Chavez knotted the score with a layup with just 39 seconds remaining.

Embry-Riddle head coach Steve Ridder called a timeout to draw up one last play. Krazit was given the ball-handling responsibility on the play and while the Bobcats appeared to be looking to cover the Eagles' primary threats ? DeBord, Cobb, Lorenzi ? Krazit slipped by the St. Thomas defense on the baseline for the uncontested lay-up that reclaimed the lead for ERAU.

Not only did the play serve to give the Eagles the advantage on the scoreboard, it also took precious time off the clock, leaving St. Thomas with only nine seconds to try to tie or win the game. The Bobcats looked to their leading scorer once again, but this time Jones three-point attempt just missed the target giving the Eagles the win.

Jones finished the night with 29 points and Chavez contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Bobcats move to 9-5 on the year and 0-1 in league play.

The Eagles' next game will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they host Savannah College of Art and Design at the ICI Center.