OPA-LOCKA, Fla. – The NAIA II No. 21 Embry-Riddle men's basketball team withstood a late 20-5 run by Florida Memorial and held off the Lions by going 7-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 57 seconds to secure a 66-61 win on Wednesday night.
The victory moves the Eagles' record to 18-5 overall and 5-4 in conference play, while FMU falls to 5-12 and 2-6 in The Sun Conference.
The Blue and Gold jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the first half. A three from
Daniel Kiesling built the lead to 21-5 with 9:11 left in the half, while a three from
Jason Powell increased the margin to 17 points (26-9) with 4:25 to play in the frame. Powell connected for a pair of free throws with 1:53 on the clock to give ERAU its largest lead of the half (18 points) at 32-14, though a 6-0 FMU run to close the half cut the deficit to 32-20 at the break.
The Eagles came out strong in the second half, pushing the lead up to 21 points (47-26) with 13 minutes remaining in the game. But the Lions scored the next 10 points to trim the deficit to 11 (47-36) with 9:39 left before ERAU rallied back with two free throws from
Cesar Pastrana and a triple from Kiesling to grow the lead back to 16 points (52-36) with 7:10 to play.
A layup by
DeForest Carter increased the margin to 18 points (54-36) with just over five minutes left in the game. Kiesling scored a layup of his own three minutes later, putting Embry-Riddle in front, 58-41 with 2:29 remaining. From that point, Florida Memorial went on a 12-1 run to pull to within just six points (59-53) with 62 seconds left on the clock. A pair of
Daniel Mondragon free throws pushed the lead to eight, but FMU countered with five straight points to make it a three-point game (62-59) with 35 seconds to play.
The Lions' Adrian White missed a pair of three-pointers on their next possession, but after Carter made 1-of-2 free throws, FMU's Michael Baptiste knifed through the defense for an uncontested dunk, trimming the margin to only two points (63-61) with 14 seconds left. Carter caught the inbound pass and held the ball for four seconds before Bryan Portillo committed an ill-advised reach-in foul, sending Carter back to the line, where he connected on both free throws. Trailing 65-61, FMU's Antwan Baggs hoisted up a 30-foot shot with seven seconds to go that went halfway down before rattling out. Powell collected his seventh rebound of the night and hit 1-of-2 free throws to finish off the Lions, 66-61.
Keisling led the Eagles with a career-high 17 points. He also set career highs in field goals made (7) and three-point field goals made (3) in 30 minutes of action. Carter recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes, while Mondragon (11) and Pastrana (10) also reached double-figures in scoring.
White led Florida Memorial with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting while playing all 40 minutes. Michael Baptiste chipped in with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes of action.
The Blue and Gold shot 45 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the arc, while the Lions shot 39 percent overall and 24 percent from three-point range. The Lions held the advantage in bench points (15-4) and fast break points (10-0) but the Eagles dominated in second chance points, 18-5.
Next up for the Eagles is a rematch with No. 7 Northwood in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. The last time ERAU matched up with the Seahawks, the Blue and Gold, ranked eighth at the time, took down Northwood, the No. 1 team at the time, 78-74 in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Dec. 1, 2012.
