DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Senior Ray Graham turned in his fifth double-double of the 2011-12 season with 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team to a 72-53 win over Bridgewater State (Mass.) on the second day of the Land of Magic Classic on Thursday at the ICI Center. Thursday's game was the Eagles' first since the holiday break and improved their record to 7-5 on the year.   
 
The Eagles scored the first points of the contest but struggled to sustain their offense early on, falling behind 14-8 just under eight minutes in. A three-pointer by Billy Serle at the 10:03 mark pulled the Blue and Gold within two (14-12), but a pair of free throws and a layup by Samuel Johnson widened the gap back to five (18-13) with 8:43 left in the half.
 
After missing the mark on four straight possessions, the Eagles were finally able to break the mini scoring drought on a Graham layup. Two possessions later, Graham scored again and that basket triggered a 13-4 Eagle run that put ERAU on top 30-22 with 1:15 remaining in the first stanza. Graham led all first-half scorers with 13 points and nine rebounds to help the Eagles to a 30-24 advantage at the halftime break.
 
ERAU outscored the Bears 5-2 to start the second stanza and maintained a between a nine and 11-point lead through the first 11 minutes of the half.  At the 7:52 mark, Graham converted on a lay-up attempt and just over a minute later, Jeremiah Applin drilled a long-range jumper igniting a 15-5 run that allowed the Eagles to extend their lead to as many as 23 points. ERAU was just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, but turned that around in the second frame, shooting 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from long range with four of their six made threes coming in last 6:33 of the game.
 
Graham was the game's high scorer and was joined in double-digit scoring by teammates Applin (14 points) and Blake Touchard (10 points). DeForest Carter registered a game-high four assists and nine rebounds to go with two blocks, while Applin finished as the game's steals leader with three.
 
Johnson finished as the leading scorer for the Bears with 13 points as BSU drops to 3-6 on the year.
 
The Eagles close out play in the Land of Magic Classic at 6 p.m. on Friday when they take on Mary Washington (Va.).