LAKELAND, Fla. – The 2010-11 conference slate for the Embry-Riddle men's basketball began earlier than in years past, as the Eagles opened play in The Sun Conference against Southeastern on Saturday. Fifth-ranked ERAU downed the Fire 79-65 to notch its first conference win of the season and improved to 9-1 overall.

Senior David Butler took over as the Eagles' all-time block leader with his four blocks on the night. Butler accomplished that feat in only his second season wearing the Blue and Gold, moving to 160 career blocks.

The Eagles shot the ball well from the field, connecting on 54.5 percent of their attempts, including a 60 percent clip in the first half. Butler, who finished with nine rebounds, led all players with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Ray Graham totaled 14 points, followed by Jarod Leonard with 13, including a 3-for-6 performance from beyond the arc. Blake Touchard rounded out the Eagle players in double figures with 12 to go with a game-high five assists.

The Eagles got off to a strong start, outscoring the Fire 16-8 in the first six minutes, prompting Southeastern head coach John Dunlap to call a timeout. His attempt to rally his team was effective for the first few possessions as the Fire was able to cut the lead to four, but Leonard hit two of his long-range jumpers in a two-minute span to help the Eagles increase the lead to 13 points (28-15). ERAU led by as many as 16 in the first half before going into the break with a 13-point advantage (38-25).

Back-to-back jumpers by Nathan Marshall to start the second half enlivened the Southeastern crowd and appeared to give the Fire new life. But the Eagles maintained their composure and a 14-4 run helped the visitors increase the scoring margin to 24 points (60-34) with 11:01 left to play.

Embry-Riddle seemed to have the game firmly in hand, but towards the end of regulation, the Fire was able to take advantage of Eagle miscues and struggles at the free throw line to chip away at the lead and managed to shave 10 points off their deficit to make the score 73-61 with 1:41 remaining. Southeastern was not able to get any closer, however, as the Eagles got baskets from Leonard, Graham and Brandon Caputo in the last minute and a half of play to seal the win.

Malcolm Pollock matched Butler's efforts on the boards with nine rebounds of his own and was the leading scorer for Southeastern, who fell to 7-4 on the year and 1-1 in league play.

Saturday's game was the last before the Christmas break for the Eagles who return to action on Dec. 28-29 with two games in the Land of Magic Classic. ERAU will host Pen State-Harrisburg on Dec. 28 and follow with a game against Berry on Dec. 29.