DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The intense preparation and hard work leading up to the game against the top-ranked team in the nation paid off for the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team on Thursday. The Eagles, with the enthusiastic support of a great crowd on Greek Night, registered a 78-72 upset of No. 1 Northwood in Sun Conference action at the ICI Center. The win improved the Eagles' record to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in league play and snapped a 15-game winning streak for the Seahawks (16-2, 4-1) who have been ranked No. 1 in the NAIA national ratings for the last three polls.
 
Three-pointers were the story of the first half for the Eagles who were a blistering 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of play. Justin Bozzelli, who had a season-high 11 points, got the scoring started for ERAU, knocking down his first three-point attempt of the game. Northwood's leading scorer and the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Year, Jonathan Dunn tied the score with a three of his own on the next Seahawk possession, but the Eagles went right back to Bozzelli on the next trip down the floor, and the sophomore responded by drilling another trey to make the score 6-3.
 
The Seahawks tied the score again at 9-9 with 16:08 left in the half, but the Northwood defense was unable to contain the Eagles' perimeter shooting and the Blue and Gold used the long-range shot to open up a 10-point lead (23-13) with 11:44 remaining in the half.
 
Over the next four minutes, the Seahawks, paced by Dunn's 17 first-half points, steadily closed the gap and at the 7:42 mark, the visitors had cut the lead to two (29-27).The Eagles, who had turned the ball over six times during that stretch, regained their composure and went back to what worked for them in the early stages of the game and the last seven minutes of the half saw ERAU connect on four more three-pointers to extend the advantage to 13 points (47-34) at the intermission.
 
Coming out of the break, the Eagles' offense appeared to cool off, while Northwood seemed to be heating up. The first six and a half minutes of the second stanza saw the Eagles make just one of 11 field goals, while Masse Doumbe scored 10 points to pull the Seahawks within three (54-51) with 13:18 remaining.
 
At the 12:57 mark, Daniel Mondragon, who had a career scoring night and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, drained a long range shot and that basket sparked an 11-0 run that built the Eagle lead to 65-51 with 10:46 left to play.
 
Once again, the Seahawks looked to their go-to player, Dunn, and the senior responded by scoring seven of the next 11 Northwood points to cut the ERAU lead to six (68-62). After grabbing the defensive rebound on an Eagle miss, Patrick Horstmann was fouled and converted both free throw attempts to make the score 68-64. Two more free throws by Doumbe on the next Northwood possession made it a two-point game with 3:09 left to play.
 
The Eagles managed to increase the margin to six (74-68) on baskets by Bozzelli and DeForest Carter, but once again Dunn had an answer with four free throws and an unassisted dunk to make the score 74-72 with 43 seconds showing on the clock.
 
On their next offensive trip, Carter was fouled and went to the charity stripe for a one-on-one, but he was unable to convert on the first attempt and the rebound went to Horstmann. As Dunn prepared to take the ball down the court in search of the Seahawks' first lead of the game, Blake Touchard got into his defensive stance and tapped the ball away from Dunn as he tried to gain position just outside the arc. The senior raced to the basket and after being fouled in the act of shooting, he knocked down both free throws for a four-point (76-74) Eagle advantage with 20 seconds left.
 
The Seahawks got the ball into Dunn's hands on the next possession, but his three-point attempt bounced off the rim and was corralled by Carter who was immediately fouled with 13 seconds remaining. After Carter hit both of his free throws, the Seahawks raced down the floor and looked for the long-range shot once again, but it too missed the mark and the rebound was pulled down by Carter who held onto the ball to run out the clock and secure the Eagle win.
 
Carter and Mondragon tallied 14 points each to top the Eagles' scoring chart, while Jason Powell added 12 points and Justin Bozzelli and Touchard contributed 11 points apiece. Ray Graham led the Eagles on the boards with 10 rebounds, with Carter adding six and Mondragon and Powell collecting five rebounds each.
 
As a team, the Eagles were 47.4 percent (27-57) from the field and 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from behind the three-point line. Embry-Riddle out-rebounded the Seahawks 40-32 and got great production from its bench, which outscored the Northwood reserves 25-5.
 
Dunn was the game's high scorer with 35 points, including a 9-for-9 performance from the free throw line. Doumbe totaled 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the Northwood effort.
 
The Eagles will play their next game at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they travel to Lake Wales, Fla. to take on No. 22 ranked Warner.