DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Embry-Riddle senior Eric Lorenzi exploded for a career-high 34 points to lead the eighth-ranked Eagles to a 89-62 win over Johnson & Wales in the quarterfinals of The Sun Conference tournament on Tuesday. With the win, the Eagles (26-5) earn the right to host the conference tournament Final Four this weekend, Feb. 26-27.

Danny Krazit got the scoring started for the Eagles with a three at the 18:40 mark and that basket propelled the Eagles to a 9-0 run over the first five minutes of the ball game. After missing their first seven shot attempts, the Wildcats finally got on the board courtesy of an AJ Coppola three, and proceeded to put together an 11-3 run of their own to cut the Eagle lead to one (12-11).

Over the next three minutes, both teams traded baskets until David Tucker's three tied the score at 18-18 with 9:42 left in the half. That basket served to fire up the Eagles who launched a concerted defensive effort over the next four minutes, highlighted by four Wildcat turnovers and a Ray Graham block that sent the ball into the bleachers. The four-minute defensive stance helped the Eagles rebuild their lead to 11 and they carried a 34-30 lead into the intermission.

The Wildcats' leading scorer, Stephen Nosworthy (13.6 ppg), opened the second period with a jumper to pull Johnson & Wales within two. It was at that point that Lorenzi took over. The senior captain hit a lay-up, a jumper, a three-pointer and after a Butler dunk, he made both shots from the charity stripe to extend the Eagle advantage to nine points (45-36). Lorenzi's performance inspired his teammates who successfully converted on their next four trips down the court to take a 13-point lead with 13:22 left to play.

Nosworthy tried to take over the game for the Wildcats and his jumper at the 9:33 mark pulled his team to within nine, but that is as close as Johnson & Wales would get. With the exception of a Glenn Dalcourt three, Lorenzi did just about everything a coach could ask of his player. He drilled two three-pointers and a pair of lay-ups, made good on a trip to the free throw line and controlled the glass on both ends of the floor in a stretch of three and a half minutes to give the Blue and Gold a 19-point cushion.

With the game well in hand, Lorenzi was subbed out to a loud ovation, but there was no let down on the court as his teammates picked up where he left off, making five of the Eagles' seven second-half three-pointers in the last eight minutes to run away with a 27-point victory.

Lorenzi added six rebounds to his scoring performance and recorded zero turnovers in 34 minutes on the floor. Butler finished with 20 points and seven boards, while Blake Touchard added 12 points and Krazit finished with a game-high six assists and two steals.

Nosworthy finished as the leading scorer for the Wildcats who ended their season at 6-22. Nosworthy tallied 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, and six rebounds. Tucker added 15 points and Matthew Stanley totaled a game-high eight rebounds to go with his seven points on the night.

The Eagles will take on Florida Memorial in the conference tournament semifinals at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The other semifinal will pit Northwood against Warner beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. Both games will be played at the ICI Center.