DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ajay Rutledge turned in a 25-point performance to lead the Daemen men's basketball team to a 78-73 win over 14th-ranked Embry-Riddle in the championship game of the Daytona Mitsubishi Shootout on Saturday. Rutledge earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 19 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games to help the Wildcats improve to 3-1 on the year.

The Eagles were the better team on the boards in the first 20 minutes, outrebounding the Wildcats 26-10, including a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass. Embry-Riddle also held a 20-14 advantage in points in the paint, but the difference in the first half was in long range shooting as the Eagles were 0-for-4 from beyond the arc, while Daemen connected on six of its 13 three-point attempts.

A layup by David Butler and a jumper by Blake Touchard gave the Eagles a 4-0 lead to start the game, but Jorge Ebanks quickly erased the deficit with a three-pointer and a layup to put the Wildcats up 5-4 and a see-saw battle over the next three minutes resulted in three ties and four lead changes. A pair of Brett Rawlings free throws at the 13:50 mark keyed a 6-0 run that gave the Blue and Gold an 18-12 lead. But the Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run of their own to knot the score at 20-20 with 10:00 on the clock.

After a three and a half minute stretch that saw both teams trade baskets, Devon Dawson forced a turnover and got the ball to Rutledge on a fast break, and Rutledge's dunk sparked another 8-0 run that allowed the Wildcats to close out the half with a six-point lead, 40-34.

The Eagles came out strong to start the second half, cutting the lead to three points just three minutes into the period.  But the Wildcats withstood the pressure and built the lead up to seven again with 4:14 to play.

The last four minutes provided plenty of excitement for the 300 plus fans in attendance. The Eagles stepped up their defensive pressure, forcing turnovers on three straight Daemen possessions, and the offense made the best of those opportunities, rattling off eight unanswered points to take a 69-68 lead with 1:35 left on the clock.

But the Eagle lead was short-lived as Dawson came right back with a three-pointer and another Rutledge dunk put Daemen up 73-70 with 33 seconds remaining. Embry-Riddle had chances to cut into the lead but managed only one of their last four shot attempts while Daemen went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to come away with the win.

Rawlings and Touchard each finished with 18 points, while Graham added 17 points to the Eagle offense. Graham and David Butler (10 points, 12 rebounds) were both named to the All-Tournament team, along with Siena Heights' Brent Reynolds and Mark Snipes and Daemen's Ebanks.

Their next time out will see the Eagles compete in the Harbor Tournament being hosted by Massachusetts-Boston, Nov. 27-28. Embry-Riddle will take on Framingham State at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both games in Boston will be carried live on WELE-1380 AM and on-line at http:www.news1radio.net.