HELENA, Mont. - In one of the best-executed games in recent memory, the NAIA II Embry-Riddle Eagles had no problem with NAIA I Carroll on Saturday night in the Van Male Fieldhouse, earning an 83-51 victory over the host Saints. The Eagles (5-1) ended their two-game Montana road trip with a pair of victories over two NAIA I squads while the Saints (0-5) suffered defeat twice over the weekend at the hands of NAIA II members.
The Eagles shot a blistering 57 percent from beyond the arc (12-for-21) and a slightly lower 55 percent from the field in the triumph. The Saints managed an 8-for-16 clip from three, but were just 9-for-38 from the inside the arc in suffering their fifth consecutive loss of the season.
Cesar Pastrana got the Blue and Gold going with a layup just a minute into the game, and after the Saints came down the floor to tie it with a Dennis Mikelonis layup the Eagles took the lead for good on a two-hand slam from
Rico Saldana off a great feed from
DeForest Carter. Saldana's dunk sparked a 20-5 run for the visitors, capped by
Daniel Kiesling's three-pointer at the 10:34 mark of the first.
Embry-Riddle never relented, ballooning the lead to 22 as
Daniel Mondragon hoisted a three ball that dropped through the net, just two minutes before halftime. A
Sam Ford layup with two seconds remaining resulted in the Eagles' advantage of 21 at the break, 46-25.
Saldana led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Mikelonis had 11 first-half points for Carroll.
A quick, 6-0 run by the Saints to open the second frame caused Head Coach
Steve Ridder to call time, and the Eagles responded with their own run of 7-0, including Saldana's first three-pointer of the year.
Every time the Saints managed to cut into the Embry-Riddle lead, the Eagles would find a way to answer on the offensive end, adding six more makes from long range and a perfect 5-for-5 clip from the charity stripe in the second half.
Another Saldana dunk, this time on a fast break, effectively ended any comeback bid the Saints had been eyeing. The Eagles grew their advantage from 23 at the point to 34 on a
Jeremiah Applin trey with 60 seconds left. A pair of Saint free throws accounted for the 83-51 final and 32-point victory.
Saldana had 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting while pulling down a game-high eight boards. Carter had 11 assists, four rebounds and three steals and Mondragon was the only other Eagle to reach double-digits with 10 points.
Embry-Riddle got a three-pointer from eight separate players, including four players with two, and enjoyed a 24-assist night, a season-high for the team. The Eagles owned the glass, collecting 43 rebounds to just 20 for Carroll.
The Eagles host NAIA I Loyola (La.) in Daytona Beach on Friday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
