DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team closed out regular season play with an 84-78 overtime win over conference foe Webber International, Saturday at the ICI Center. The Eagles wrapped up their eighth Sun Conference regular season title at 14-2 and improved their overall record to 25-5.
“We have as much parity, from top to bottom, as any league in the country,” ERAU head coach Steve Ridder commented. “For us to win the regular season title, it's pretty special. There are a number of teams in our league with the ability to win a championship and it's a good feeling to be back on top, especially with quality of coaches and teams in our league.”
“Winning the regular season title was our first goal,” Ridder continued. “Now we're ready focus on goal #2 and that is winning the conference tournament.”
The Eagles were led by Blake Touchard who erupted for a season-high 29 points to go with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. David Butler added 18 points, seven boards and six blocks, while Ray Graham (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Eric Lorenzi (15 points, 7 rebounds) closed out the Eagle players in double figures.
The Warriors took the lead early in the first half and didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the period. With the score tied at 8-8, Junior Geidi hit a three-pointer to give the Warriors an 11-8 advantage. The Warriors steadily built the lead to nine points, but a four-minute stretch that saw Butler go to the free throw line eight times pulled the Eagles to within two points with 4:48 left in the half.
The Eagles had a subpar shooting performance in the first half, managing only 35.4 percent from the field and 15.4 from long range. Additionally, the Eagles were outdone on the boards as the Warriors held a 22-16 rebounding advantage allowing Webber International to take a 39-33 lead at the half.
The Warriors continued to lead the ballgame in the second half, holding a nine-point advantage on average throughout the frame and leading by as many as 12. With 5:30 left in regulation the Warriors led by 11 after a Tyrell Harper free throw. On the next Eagle possession, Touchard knocked down a three-pointer that marked the start of the Eagle comeback. The Blue and Gold went on an 11-2 run punctuated by Butler's lay-up that cut the lead to two with 2:45 left on the clock.
The Warriors had two looks at the basket on their next possession but came up empty and Graham grabbed the rebound to give the Eagles for a chance to tie. After calling a timeout, the Eagles got the ball to Lorenzi on the right side on an inbounds play from the baseline. Lorenzi and Touchard exchanged passes and on the second go-around, Touchard got the ball at the top of the arc and the sophomore hit his fifth three of the game to give the Blue and Gold its first lead since the 17:49 mark of the first half. Halston Schaffer's lay-up with 37 seconds left to play put the Warriors up by one, but ERAU got the ball down the court to Graham who was fouled on his shot attempt, and Graham made one of two free throws to tie the score at 71-71 with 26 seconds remaining.
Following a WIU timeout, the Warriors got the ball to Schaffer again, but the senior's attempt was thwarted by Butler who recorded the biggest of his six blocks to send the game into overtime.
The Eagles carried the momentum of clutch offensive and defensive plays at the end of regulation into the overtime period and rattled off four unanswered points to move ahead, 75-71. The Warriors pulled back to within one and seemed poised to reclaim the lead when Geidi forced an Eagle turnover with a steal and found Tyler Hoevenaar sprinting down the court on the quick outlet. But Touchard quickly recovered to bother Hoevenaar's attempt and Lorenzi was on hand to corral the rebound to give ERAU a chance to extend its advantage.
The Eagles quickly widened the gap when Glenn Dalcourt hit his second three to put Embry-Riddle up by five (79-74) with 41 seconds left to play. With the exception of a late Luke Malar three-pointer, the Eagles' defensive pressure held the Warriors scoreless in the closing seconds and the Eagles made seven of their last eight free throws to take the win.
By clinching The Sun Conference regular season title, the Eagles have secured the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Eagles will host Johnson & Wales in a first-round game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
