DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The 16th-ranked Eagles made enough shots down the stretch to secure a 94-89 win over visiting Shawnee State (Ohio) on Friday night in the opening game of the 2012 Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout presented by SW Grill. The Bears made things interesting in the final 10 minutes, but Embry-Riddle came away with the victory to earn a spot in Saturday's championship game against Davenport (Mich.) after the No. 11 Panthers downed No. 23 Southern Oregon, 72-57 in Friday's nightcap.

Embry-Riddle (2-0) led by as many as 23 in the second period, but the Bears (1-2) refused to give the Eagles an easy win, cutting the lead to single digits with just over five minutes to play in the contest. However, the Blue and Gold did not allow Shawnee State to get closer than seven points until the final basket of the game cut the lead to five, 94-89.

The Eagles put on another defensive clinic in the first half, holding the Bears to 37 percent shooting from the floor while hitting on 48 perecent of their own shots to take a 42-34 lead into the break.

Shawnee State jumped out to a four-point advantage at the 16:09 mark thanks to a Tyler Morgan layup, but back-to-back buckets from Cesar Pastrana knotted the score at 9-9. Both teams struggled offensively over the next seven minutes, but a three-pointer from Jeremiah Applin gave Embry-Riddle a five-point lead with under 10 minutes to go in the half and the Eagles never looked back, growing the advantage to 11 on a Daniel Kiesling three ball before ending the the half on two free throws from Brandon Serle.

Pastrana and Billy Serle paced Steve Ridder's squad in the first with 11 points apiece while the Bears' Jeremy Bennington tallied 11 of his own to lead Shawnee State. Serle went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc while adding a two-point jumper, and Pastrana was near perfect inside, going 5-for-6 and 1-for-1 from the free throw line.

The Blue and Gold came out hot in the second half, putting together a 19-6 run to take a commanding 61-42 lead in under five minutes, including five straight layups. When the Eagles extended the lead to 23 on two Applin free throws the Bears went on a quick 6-0 spurt to slice the lead to 17, and then a 9-0 run that ended in a Tyler Boyles tip-in with 5:03 left in regulation.

The Bears' tried in vain to get the deficit into two-possession territory, but the Eagles only shot layups and free throws the rest of the way, making 9 of their final 12 from the charity stripe. Boyles hit an off-balance three with five second left to account for the 94-89 final.

Embry-Riddle ended the night shooting 33-for-59 from the field for nearly 56 percent, making 20-of-31 free throws for 64.5 percent. The Bears bettered the Eagles in several categories, including a 10-for-29 clip from three, 23-for-28 at the free throw line, outrebounding the Blue and Gold 49-32 and collecting a 27-7 advantage in second-chance points. However, Embry-Riddle easily won the battle in the paint, outscoring Shawnee State 46-26 and recording a 27-17 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Pastrana's 22 points were a career-high for the sophomore. The Cartagena, Colombia native also pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists for the Eagles. DeForest Carter went for a double-double with 18 points and 11 assists, falling four boards shy of a triple-double. Rico Saldana scored all 13 of his points in the second half while Billy Serle finished the night with 14 markers.

Brandon Serle and Sam Ford each had three blocks and for the second straight game the Eagles went for 18+ assists, racking up 22 on the 33 made Embry-Riddle shots.

Bennington scored 22 for Shawnee State, while Boyles (17), Morgan (15) and Ian Nixson (12) also scored in double-figures.

Shawnee State and Southern Oregon will meet in the consolation game Saturday night at 6 p.m. and the Eagles will take on the Panthers at 8 p.m. in the tournament finale.