LAKELAND, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team improved its overall record to 7-3 with a hard-fought 71-51 victory over Southeastern (6-9) on the road on Saturday. The Blue and Gold managed to maintain its composure in a very physical game and had a good team effort, registering assists on 17 of its 26 made baskets, compared to just three assists by Southeastern.

When the whistle blew signaling the end of the first half, the Eagles found themselves clinging to a 33-29 lead. The Fire's offense struggled to find the mark in the first 20 minutes, shooting 23.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. Conversely, the Eagles shot the ball well in the first frame with a 51.9 field goal percentage, but the Eagles, who were averaged just over 16 turnovers per game going into Saturday's contest, turned the ball over 12 times in the first half alone, which resulted in 12 Southeastern points. In addition, the Fire bested the Eagles on the offensive glass, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to the Eagles' five.

The start of the second half saw the Fire cut the Eagle lead to three on a three-pointer by Dyami Thurman. With 13:44 left to play, Eric Lorenzi hit his only three-pointer of the night and that marked the beginning of a 17-5 run, which gave the Eagles a 16-point advantage with 7:33 left to play.

At the 4:57 mark, Southeastern cleared its bench in an effort to get something going, but the Eagles maintained their composure down the stretch, holding the Fire scoreless over the last 2:45. Glenn Dalcourt added the exclamation point to a strong second-half effort with a three-pointer with just over a minute to play to seal the 20-point win.

David Butler came off the bench and weathered a blow to the head to lead all scorers with 15 points and added six rebounds, three blocks, three steals and two assists. Lorenzi finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Ray Graham posted 11 points and eight boards on the night. After a quiet first half in which he scored just two points, Brett Rawlings stepped up his game in the second half to finish with 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

The Eagles take a two-week break for the Christmas holidays and will return to action at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 when they host Wartburg (Iowa) as part of the 2009 Land of Magic Classic.