DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team closed out the 2009 calendar year on a positive note with a 68-59 victory over Hood College (Md.) in both teams' Land of Magic Classic finale at Embry-Riddle's ICI Center on Tuesday. The Eagles had four players in double figures, including senior Eric Lorenzi who finished just one point shy of his season-best with 22 points on the night.
In contrast to their strong offensive performance in Monday's game, the Eagles struggled to get things going on Tuesday. They quickly fell behind by eight after making just four of their first 21 shots, with all four buckets coming from Lorenzi who scored 13 of his 22 points in the first half. After trailing for the first 14 minutes of the frame, the Eagles, sparked by a pair of three-pointers by Glenn Dalcourt, went on an 11-5 run to take a 30-25 lead with 3:39 left to play. The Blue and Gold recovered from its offensive woes in the opening portion of the game to convert on five of their last 11 shots of the half and bested the Blazers on the glass, 26-14, to take a 35-30 lead into the halftime break.
The intermission did not affect the Eagles' momentum as they maintained their lead for the entire second half. However, the Blazers continued to battle and remained within striking distance, cutting the lead to two (48-46) with 14:01 left to play. Embry-Riddle withstood the run and increased their margin to 12 points on Lorenzi's only three of the ballgame at the 5:12 mark.
Despite being out-rebounded over the last five minutes of the contest, the Eagle defense managed to limit the Blazers to just one made basket during that stretch to pull out the win.
David Butler came off the bench to contribute 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, while Blake Touchard and Ray Graham added 14 and 11 points, respectively, to the Eagles' tally. Graham and Lorenzi joined Brandon Caputo with seven rebounds on the evening.
Tyler Snoots was the leading scorer for the Blazers who are now 6-4 on the year. Snoots finished with 19 points and seven boards, while J'Air Brady (11 points) and Tory Wilson (7 points) each grabbed a game-high eight boards.
The Eagles will only have a couple of days to recover as they will face Tennessee Wesleyan in the Bahama House Classic at 7 p.m. on Friday. Webber International will battle Indiana-South Bend in the tournament opener at 5 p.m.
The Embry-Riddle vs. Tennessee Wesleyan game can be heard live in Daytona Beach on 1380-AM and also live on the internet at http://www.news1radio.net
