DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Embry-Riddle head men's basketball coach Steve Ridder earned the 500^th win of his 21-year career in dramatic fashion on Friday evening, as the sixth-ranked Eagles (20-4 overall, 9-1 conference ) pulled out a 71-67 overtime win over Johnson & Wales.

"I think this win is important for our entire athletic program," Ridder stated. "It's something that everyone in this arena - our faculty, staff, students, administration, former student-athletes, boosters - they have collectively contributed to this success. This milestone should make us all proud. It has taken a lot of hard work and sacrifice to create something that's truly special for our university. That's what tonight represented."

In 21 seasons at the helm of the Eagles' basketball program, Ridder has led the Eagles to seven conference regular season and tournament titles and 10 NAIA national tournament appearances and in 1999-00, the Eagles reached the NAIA pinnacle claiming the first national championship. A three-time conference Coach of the Year, Ridder was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2000 and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2009.

Many of Ridder's 500 wins have been hard-fought battles and Friday's game was no different as the Eagles faced a very determined Johnson & Wales team.

Embry-Riddle got off to a somewhat sluggish start. After Ryan Christian hit a jumper for the first points of the game at the 19:03 mark, the Eagles went cold over the next three minutes, turning the ball over twice and missing both of their shots from the field. On the other side of the court, David Tucker took control of the game for the Wildcats, scoring their eight of their first nine points to give Johnson & Wales a six-point lead (9-3).

A 30-second timeout helped the Eagles turn things around and a 13-4 run put the home team ahead 16-13 with 10:41 left in the half. The Johnson & Wales offense, which started out on fire, cooled quickly as the Eagle defense limited the Wildcats to just 29 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Eagles shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first half, including five three-pointers to take a 39-25 lead going into the break.

The Eagles built the lead to as many as 16 points in the second half, but Johnson & Wales, helped by the Eagles' struggles at the free throw line (4-10) steadily battled their way back into contention and a Stephen Nosworthy jumper at the 3:41 mark sparked an 11-2 run Wildcat run that made it a one-point Eagle lead with 57 seconds left in regulation.

Following back-to-back turnovers by the Eagles, the Wildcats moved ahead, 61-60, on a Tucker layup. With 46 seconds left to play, Danny Krazit was fouled, but the Eagles' free throw woes continued to plague them as Krazit made the first but missed the second, resulting in a tied game. On the ensuing Wildat possession, Blake Touchard corralled a Matthew Stanley miss, giving the Eagles the opportunity for the last shot.

With the game knotted at 61, the Eagles took a time out to draw up a play for the last nine seconds of regulation. Coming out of the timeout, they got the ball to Lorenzi whose initial shot attempt fell short of the mark with two seconds left on the clock. Butler grabbed the rebound, but his shot attempt rattled around the rim and neither team was able to control the ball sending the game into overtime.

In a touch of irony, free throws were the difference in overtime. Both teams shot just 33.3 percent from the field, but while Johnson & Wales missed their only free throw attempt in overtime, the Eagles connected on eight of their 14 trips to the charity stripe to pull out the win.

"I have to give credit to Johnson and Wales," Ridder said. "I was impressed with their preparation. They battled hard for 40 plus minutes. We didn't finish strong tonight and we need to learn from that. That being said, all great teams find a way to win and we found a way to earn a victory tonight."

Touchard finished with a game-high 17 points, including four three-pointers, to go with four assists and two steals. Lorenzi totaled a season-high 15 rebounds and matched Ray Graham (7 rebounds) and David Butler (9 rebounds) with 13 points each.

Tucker also tallied 17 points on the night to go with his 11 rebounds. Stanley and Nosworthy each finished with 13 rebounds and nine points and 16 points, respectively as the Wildcats fall to 4-18 overall and 2-9 in league play.

The Eagles return to action at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they host No. 14 Northwood at the ICI Center.