DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Embry-Riddle Eagles came out ready to play Friday night against conference newcomers Ave Maria, as they defeated the Gyrenes, 75-45, at the ICI Center, moving their overall record to 12-3.

Tonight's match up was the conference opener for both opponents, but the Eagles were able to come out on top after their active holiday break prepared them for action in The Sun Conference.

The entire Eagles' lineup saw time on the court, while David Butler, Blake Touchard, and Eric Lorenzi turned in solid performances scoring 16, 12, and 11, respectively.

The first half started out sluggishly as each team was attempting to find their offense. At the 7:44 mark, a Glenn Dalcourt three-pointer sparked a 17-0 run for the Eagles, leaving the Gyrenes scoreless over the next 10 minutes. It wasn't until an Ave Maria free throw at the 3:31 mark put the Gyrenes back on the scoreboard. The Eagles led 33-19 at the half, holding the AMU offense to just 12 percent from the field.

The momentum was in the Eagles' favor at the start of the second frame and continued on throughout the remainder of the contest, as they led by as many as 35 points.

The Eagles zone defense seemed stifling, holding the Gyrenes to just 29.6 percent from the floor and 0.0 percent from three-point range, while also causing 27 AMU turnovers.

Butler recorded his seventh double-double of the year, contributing 10 rebounds to go along with his 16-point performance. Danny Krazit added eight points and three steals for the Eagles, while Dalcourt picked up nine points in the win. Josh Seidel went two-for-three from beyond the arc, adding seven points from the bench.

Jimmy Torney led the way for AMU with nine points and six rebounds, as the Gyrenes move to 0-1 in The Sun Conference and 6-7 overall.

The Eagles will take on the Edward Waters Tigers Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the ICI Center and hope to continue their dominant play in their second conference match-up of the season.