DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The third-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team captured the 2013 Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia title on Saturday with an 88-66 win over Graceland, Saturday at the ICI Center. The victory marked the Eagles' seventh tournament title and improved their overall record to 7-0 on the year.
The game was closely contested through the first nine minutes of play with neither team leading by more than three points. The Eagles managed to pull ahead by five (19-14) with 9:12 left in the first half, but baskets by Drew Emmert and Max Francisco pulled the Yellowjackets within a point (19-18) with 8:15 left.
At the 7:05 mark, All-Tournament selection
Cesar Pastrana, who was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, scored two of his game-high 17 points and that bucket sparked a 7-0 Eagle run. Graceland managed to cut the lead to four (28-24), but then tournament MVP
DeForest Carter took over and the junior recorded the next nine points to give the Eagles a 37-26 advantage with 2:03 left in the half. A
Daniel Kiesling jumper and a pair of Pastrana free throws helped the Blue and Gold take a 41-29 lead into the break.
The second half saw ERAU steadily build on its advantage and with 10:30 left to play, the lead had swelled to 33 points (70-37). The lead proved insurmountable for the Yellowjackets who fell to 6-2 with the loss.
Although they struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 17.4 percent (4-of-23) for the game, the Eagles still managed a 50.7 percent (36-71) clip from the field. The Blue and Gold got the ball inside to Pastrana,
Rico Saldana and
Hudson Cadet, who gave the Eagles nine points of the bench, including a trio of crowd-pleasing dunks in the second half.
Carter finished with 15 points, eight assists, five steals and three rebounds on the way to MVP honors, while Pastrana recorded his second double-double of the year, pulling down 13 rebounds to go with his 17 scores.
Jason Powell totaled 10 points, seven boards and four assists, and Saldana, who was forced to sit after picking up two early fouls, chipped in 12 points.
Joining Carter and Pastrana on the All-Tournament team were Powell, Graceland's Jamal Lawson, Carroll's Dennis Mikelonis and Tennessee Wesleyan's Devante Jenkins.
The Eagles return to action at 7 p.m. on Nov. 30 when they host Florida College at the ICI Center.
