DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team (1-0) opened its 2010-11 campaign with a decisive 91-67 defeat of Tennessee Wesleyan as part of ERAU's 2010 Homecoming festivities on Saturday. The Eagles had four players score in double digits, including senior David Butler, who finished with a game-high 29 points.

Offensively, the Eagles shot 51.8 percent from the field in the first period, while on the other side of the basketball, the defense held the Bulldogs to just nine field goals.

After going for two minutes without a score, the Eagles finally got on the board thanks to a pair of free throws by Butler. The Bulldogs were able to tie things up two possessions later, but Butler's first field goal of the contest sparked a 17-2 run that gave ERAU a 19-4 lead. A near perfect showing from the charity stripe (7-for-8) helped the Eagle lead swell to 23 points and at the intermission, the Eagles held a commanding 46-26 advantage.

Coming out of the break, ERAU continued to shoot the ball well from the field at 54.2 percent (13-of-24) and improved from 25 percent (3-of-12) on long range attempts in the first half to 45.5 (5-of-11) in the second. An Andy Cooper three-pointer cut the lead to 17 (68-51) with seven and half minutes left to play, but that's as close as the Bulldogs would get as the Eagles widened the gap to as many as 27 points before ending the night with the 24–point victory.

Butler finished just one rebound shy of a double-double, pulling down a game-high nine boards to go with his 29 points. Blake Touchard, who was perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, totaled 13 points and six boards and tied Danny Krazit with six assists on the night. Glenn Dalcourt went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc for 11 points and Ray Graham tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.

Matt Towry had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs who fall to 1-2 on the year. Isaiah Kirk also had seven rebounds and E'Jay Ward finished with a game-high seven assists.

The Eagles will have a week to prepare for the Daytona Mitsubishi Shootout which takes place Nov. 12-13 at the ICI Center. The four-team tournament includes Daemen (N.Y.), Faulkner (Ala.) and Central Methodist (Mo.).