DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles opened their 2012-13 Sun Conference slate with a 77-62 victory over Florida Memorial on Wednesday night in the ICI Center. The Eagles led by as many as 23 and the Lions were never able to make it a game as Embry-Riddle won its sixth straight game, moving to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in The Sun Conference. Florida Memorial drops to 2-4 and 0-1.
The Eagles now turn their sights to Saturday's matchup with NAIA No. 1 Northwood (6-0) at home at 7 p.m. The Seahawks and Eagles will meet for the 17th time looking to break the 8-8 all-time series record.
It took a while for either team to get going in the first minutes of the contest with Michael Baptiste's layup at the 13:27 mark giving his team an 8-6 lead, the Lions' last of the game.
A four-minute stretch from 8:51 on the clock to 4:53 on the clock was all the Eagles needed to pull away from the visitors, outscoring Florida Memorial 14-2, sparked by a
Billy Serle three-pointer. Serle hit another three during the run, as did
Jeremiah Applin who finished the first half a perfect, 3-for-3 from long range.
Cesar Pastrana collected an offensive rebound and scored an Eagle layup with three seconds remaining in the period, accounting for the 43-30 cushion Embry-Riddle enjoyed at the break.
The Lions shot just 35 percent from the floor in the first half while the hosts went 16-for-29 for over 55 percent from the field. Pastrana led all scorers with 10 at the intermission.
A 12-6 Eagle run began the second half, and the Lions, who shot just 36 percent for the game were never able to recover as the Eagles cruised to the win. Pastrana gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game with a free throw at the 5:52 mark in the second, he ended the contest with a team-high 15 points, the third straight game he has paced Embry-Riddle offensively.
A total of five Eagles were in double-figures for the game, including Pastrana (15), Applin (11),
Daniel Mondragon (10),
DeForest Carter (10) and Serle (10). The Blue and Gold finished with a 47.5 percent clip from the floor and a 45 percent stat from beyond the arc.
The Eagles recorded 20 assists on 28 baskets and collected 10 steals, led by Carter's six.
Baptiste scored 19 for the Lions, while Adam Braswell chipped in 13 points.
The Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak to the Lions and matched their 2011-12 best winning streak of six.
The Eagles and Seahawks are set to do battle for the fifth time with Northwood No. 1. Last season, ERAU upended the Seahawks in the ICI Center, 78-72 on Jan. 19.
