GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Sterling (TBD) at Embry-Riddle (0-0)
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center (1,968)
TIP-OFF: 7 p.m. ET
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO: Stretch Internet
ON THE RADIO: WELE 1380 AM
CURRENT STREAK: L1
LAST 5 GAMES: 2-3
LAST 10 GAMES: 3-7
AT HOME IN 2012: 0-0
SERIES: Embry-Riddle leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: ERAU 86, Sterling 55 - Mar. 8, 2006 (NAIA II National Tournament - First Round)
AT A GLANCE
Embry-Riddle will look to start the 2012-13 season off on the right foot when it welcomes Sterling to the ICI Center on Saturday night for the second-ever meeting between the two teams. The 7 p.m. contest will be the Eagles' first of the year, while Sterling will be playing it's second game in as many nights. Head Coach Steve Ridder begins his 24th season at the helm of the Blue and Gold program, entering the year with a 555-213 record.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The biggest question every Eagle fan will want answered is how Embry-Riddle replaces two of the program's all-time greats in Ray Graham and Blake Touchard. Graham and Touchard, who are ranked eighth and 14th respectively in the Eagles' 1,000-Point Club, accounted for more than 36 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game a year ago.
JAM PACKED SATURDAY
Saturday will prove to be a busy one for the Embry-Riddle athletic department as all five fall sports are in action (three of the teams on ERAU's campus) as well as the men's basketball team kicking off their season in the evening and the baseball team holding it's alumni game earlier in the day.
Both the Embry-Riddle men's and women's cross country teams look to extend their Sun Conference title streaks to eight and seven respectively when they compete at the 2012 Sun Conference Cross Country Championships in Babson Park, Fla.
The baseball team will welcome back many alumni from the program's 24 seasons of intercollegiate competition with a friendly contest between two teams of alumni players. The game is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Sliwa Stadium.
The sixth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team plays it's regular season finale at 2 p.m. in the ICI Center. The Eagles, winners of 63 straight Sun Conference matches, will play host to Warner, a team that took the Blue and Gold to five sets earlier in the year.
The men's soccer team will also take on Warner, but for them it will be in The Sun Conference Tournament. The Eagles and Royals will meet at 4 p.m. at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. Coach Dave Gregson's squad claimed the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will look to advance to the final four with a victory over Warner.
At 6 p.m. the women's soccer team will host their own game in The Sun Conference Tournament against an opponent to be determined.
The day's final event will be the basketball contest between the Eagles and Sterling at 7 p.m.
SCOUTING STERLING
The Warriors, coached by seventh-year head coach Dean Jaderston, lost their two best scoring threats from the 2011-12 season in Trenton Stutzman and Cody Brazelton, both of whom were first team All-Conference in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. However, Sterling does return senior Adam Brown, a 6-4 forward from Houston, Texas. Brown averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Warriors last year en route to honorable mention All-KCAC honors. Also back for Sterling is All-KCAC Freshman Team member Matt Swank.
The Warriors open their season against Sun Conference member and NAIA No. 10 Warner on Friday night in Lake Wales, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Eagles and Warriors have met just once before, but on the biggest stage in NAIA basketball. Embry-Riddle downed Sterling 86-55 in the first round of the 2006 NAIA II Men's Basketball Tournament. The Eagles were the No. 1 seed in the tournament after going 31-2 during the regular season and Florida Sun Conference tournament. Embry-Riddle survived just one more game in Point Lookout, losing 84-78 to Mt. Vernon Nazarene in the round of 16.
LAST GAME: Eagles Fall to No. 1 Seahawks in Conference Semis
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team closed out its 2011-12 campaign with an 80-64 loss to top-ranked Northwood in the semifinals of The Sun Conference tournament on Friday, Feb. 24 at Northwood's Countess de Hoernle Center. The Eagles, seeded fifth, went toe-to-toe with the top-seeded Seahawks in the first half, matching the Seahawks scoring output for a 26-26 halftime tie, but Northwood shot 65.5 percent in the second stanza en route to the win and improved to 29-3 on the year, while the Eagles finish at 17-15.
OPENING NIGHT POINT PRODUCTION
The Eagles have averaged 93.3 points per opening night contest since the program's inception in 1988. Embry-Riddle has reached the century mark seven times in 24 season openers, including a high of 121 in 1995 in an 86-point win over American Indian College, the biggest margin of victory in program history.
FIRST GAME WIN STREAK
The Blue and Gold is 20-4 in season openers, winning nine straight since 2003, and having won seven consecutive openers from 1990-96. The only teams to beat the Eagles to start a season are Hillsborough (1988), Nova Southeastern (1989), Alaska-Anchorage (1997) and Robert Morris (Ill.) (2002).
THIRD PLEASE
The Sun Conference preseason coaches' poll was announced on Oct. 22 with the Eagles placing third amongst the nine teams in the league. Northwood received eight first-place votes and 64 total points in the poll to claim the top spot, followed by Warner (52), Embry-Riddle (49), St. Thomas (45) and Southeastern (33) in the top five.
SWEET NO. 16
The Eagles received a pleasant surprise on Oct. 23 when the NAIA released the preseason coaches' top 25 poll. Embry-Riddle, after finishing 17-15 in 2011-12, found it's name in the No. 16 slot. The Eagles have been ranked 16th on three occasions now, including the 2008 preseason poll and on Jan. 4, 2005. A complete listing of ERAU's all-time rankings can be found HERE.
SOPHOMORE SUCCESS
Ridder and his coaching staff will rely heavily on three sophomores after their impressive freshman campaigns; DeForest Carter, Jason Powell and Cesar Pastrana are back for their sophomore seasons in Eagle uniforms. Carter is ERAU's top returner, earning Sun Conference Freshman of the Year honors last season, Powell has shouldered the burden of being the team's defensive stopper while Pastrana is an imposing force in the post for the Eagles with his 6-8, 275 lb. frame.
SENIOR FIVE
The sophomores aren't the only class with high expectations. The five-member senior class will be looked to for leadership both on and off the court. Daniel Mondragon, Jeremiah Applin, Billy Serle, Ben Redfield and Sam Ford will suit up for their final season opener on Saturday.
QUARTER CENTURY OF EAGLE BASKETBALL
The 2012-13 season marks the 25th edition of Eagle basketball and Embry-Riddle athletics overall. The basketball, baseball, men's tennis and men's golf programs began in the 1988-89 academic year and were the foundation the rest of the department was built upon.
Embry-Riddle is 555-234 in 24 seasons, capturing eight conference regular season titles, nine conference tournament titles, claiming 17 NAIA All-America honors, 15 Honorable Mention All-American honors and reaching the pinnacle of NAIA basketball in 2000 when the Eagles won the NAIA II National Championship.
NEXT STOP: 70,000
In 24 seasons of play, the Eagles have scored 66,105 points, an average of 83.7 points per game and 2,754 per season. The Blue and Gold's biggest scoring output in a single game was 133, achieved twice, the first in 1991 against Warner Southern and then again in 2001 against Nova Southeastern. The highest scoring season for Embry-Riddle was the 1992-93 campaign that saw 3,440 points scored by the Eagles over the course of a 36-game schedule, an average of 95.6 points each night.
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Sterling (TBD)
at
Embry-Riddle (0-0)
11/3/12 | Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center | 7 p.m.
(2011-12 Stats)
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1st |
2nd |
OT |
Total |
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Sterling |
1,117 |
1,281 |
20 |
2,418 |
|
Embry-Riddle |
1,159 |
1,320 |
11 |
2,490 |
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Stats at a Glance |
STER |
ERAU |
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FG Percentage |
.489 (856-1,751) |
.454 (855-1,885) |
|
3PT FG Percentage |
.375 (212-565) |
.355 (255-719) |
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FT Percentage |
.659 (494-750) |
.695 (525-755) |
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Offensive Rebounds |
307 |
398 |
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Defensive Rebounds |
749 |
772 |
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Total Rebounds |
1,056 |
1,170 |
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Assists |
351 |
500 |
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Turnovers |
440 |
499 |
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Steals |
225 |
263 |
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Statistical Leaders |
STER |
ERAU |
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Points |
Stutzman - 16.5 |
Graham - 19.3 |
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Rebounds |
Brazelton - 6.9 |
Graham - 7.8 |
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Assists |
Alexander - 3.3 |
Carter - 4.3 |
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Steals |
Alexander - 1.5 |
Carter - 2.0 |
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Blocks |
Brazelton - 1.0 |
Carter - 1.3 |
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Related Links |
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• 2012-13 Embry-Riddle Basketball Media Guide |
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• 2011-12 Embry-Riddle Stats |
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• 2011-12 Sterling Stats |
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