DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The NAIA II No. 4 Embry-Riddle Eagles wasted no time in jumping on top of visiting NAIA I Rio Grande in the early going of Friday night's matchup and never looked back, cruising to a 74-46 win over the RedStorm. The Eagles (11-1) end the pre-holiday break portion of their schedule on a nine-game winning streak and will next take the floor on Dec. 29 against Merchant Marine in the Land of Magic Classic. Rio (4-8) travels to Sun Conference member Warner tomorrow for a game against the Royals.
Steve Ridder's squad showed no signs of rust after an 11-day layoff, sprinting out to a 12-5 lead in under five minutes of action, spurred by six points from junior
Rico Saldana. An 11-4 run by the hosts over the next six minutes proved to be the killing blow for the RedStorm as the visitors from Ohio never seemed to recover after their leading scorer, D.D. Joiner picked up his second foul of the game at the 13:45 mark of the first half.
Embry-Riddle's defense was stifling in the opening period, holding Rio to three made field goals on 24 attempts for a 12.5 percent clip from the floor. The RedStorm did most of their damage in the first half at the charity stripe, sinking 10-of-15 free throws, paired with their three field goals, for just 17 points at the break.
The Eagles shot over 41 percent in the first half (12-for-29) and added eight free throws for 32 points and a 15-point advantage at the break.
Cesar Pastrana had 12 points for the Eagles to lead all scorers in the first.
The second half was a little kinder to the RedStorm, but the Eagles picked up their offensive pace and opened the second period on an 11-3 run for a 43-20 lead with under 15 minutes to play.
A Saldana tip-dunk at the 10:14 mark gave the Blue and Gold a 53-29 lead and the Eagles outscored Rio by four points the rest of the game to come away with the 74-46 victory.
DeForst Carter scored 13 points in the second half for 19 total, while also dishing out seven assists in the game. Pastrana finished with 13 points, while Saldana added 12 and
Billy Serle chipped in 11 for the Eagles. Embry-Riddle assisted on 22 of the 29 made buckets in the contest while forcing 17 Rio turnovers.
The Eagles' game against Merchant Marine in the Land of Magic Classic is set for Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. in the ICI Center.
