DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Embry-Riddle junior David Butler tallied a season-high 31 points to led the top-seeded Embry-Riddle men's basketball team(27-5) past Florida Memorial (10-21), 81-76 and into the title game of the 2010 Sun Conference tournament. This marks the seventh year in a row that the Eagles, ranked eighth in the final NAIA national poll, will play for a conference tournament championship.

The Eagles scored the first basket of the game, but fell behind quickly when three-pointers by Matthew Rolle and Roderick Davis put Florida Memorial up by five (9-4) at the 15:54 mark. The Eagles steadily played their way back into the game and a jumper by Glenn Dalcourt at the 7:54 mark triggered a 10-2 run that pulled the Eagles level and eventually gave them a six-point advantage (27-21) with 3:31 left in the half.

The Lions had fewer shots than the Eagles, but made the most of their opportunities, registering a 47.6 percent (10-of-21) shooting clip in the first half to the Eagles' 38.7 percent (12-31). Florida Memorial also connected on three of their eight three-point attempts, while the Eagles were unsuccessful in all of their eight tries from long range. The difference in the half came on the offensive glass and at the free throw line. The Eagles bested Florida Memorial 8-3 in offensive rebounds, which translated into 11 second chance points. Additionally, ERAU was 10 of 13 from the charity stripe, while the Lions made only seven trips, converting on four, which helped the Blue and Gold to a 34-27 lead at the half.

The Eagles' shooting improved considerably in the second frame as they were 63 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc. As a result, the Eagles led by as much as 16 in the second frame.

George Gray made it a five-point game after he scored the first basket of the second half, but the next five minutes, highlighted by a pair of Blake Touchard three-pointers, saw the Eagles build their lead to 14 points.

Gray, who scored all 18 of his points in the second half, started to rally his team.  At the 12:29 mark, he scored three the old-fashioned way and followed a pair of Giogio Gramegna threes with a long-range shot of his own to cut the Eagle lead to five. The Eagles withstood the surge and used a 7-2 run, that included a Butler three, to build the lead back up to 10.

Once again, the Lions used the long-range shot to climb back into the game as Roderick Davis and Gramegna each hit a three, followed by a two free throws and a lay-up by Rolle that made the score 75-71 with 2:28 left in the contest.

On the next possession, the Eagles got the ball to Butler on the inside and picked up a key foul against Rolle (23 points), who was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the bench after fouling out.

Without Rolle's presence in the post, the Eagles were able to make back-to-back lay-ups on offense and used a size advantage against Lions on defense to pull out the five-point victory.

Butler made something happen almost every time he touched ball. He was 11-of-12 from the field, including a made three-pointer in his only attempt, and he had nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks in 28 minutes on the floor. He also led all players at the free throw line where he was 8-of-11 on the night.

Eric Lorenzi and Ray Graham each finished in double figures with 17 and 11, respectively. Lorenzi matched Butler's nine-rebound performance and collected four steals.

The Eagles will take on No. 2 seed Northwood in the championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Seahawks advanced with a 76-74 win over Warner on a last second tip-in by Jeremy Barr.