SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The top-ranked Embry-Riddle (10-1) men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 91-85 to NAIA I Our Lady of the Lake (5-5), Saturday at the Saints' Mabee Gymnasium. Junior DeForest Carter matched his jersey number with 24 points and his performance made him the 27th ERAU basketball player to join the 1,000-point club.

"We played a quality team that presented a tremendous challenge," ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder said. "Without question, we can learn a lot from this game; we still have to get better. Give the Saints credit, they prepared very well and were extremely tough, both physically and mentally. I was proud of our effort and our ability to continue to fight, but we just did not have an answer for them defensively."

The NAIA I leader in turnover margin (11.11) and three pointers made (13.44 per game), the Saints made five of their nine three-point attempts in the first half, but it was there defense that was most troublesome for the Eagles who turned the ball over 14 times in the first 20 minutes of play.

ERAU scored the first bucket of the game, but Our Lady of the Lake scored seven unanswered points over the next five minutes to open up an 11-4 lead. Reed Ridder came off the bench to hit one of his four three-point baskets to pull the Eagles within one (16-15) with 9:16 left in the first half, but the Saints outscored the Eagles 18-9 over the next six minutes to extend the advantage to 34-24 and led 42-33 at the half.

The Eagles had a chance to close the gap without any time running off the clock to start the second frame as OLLU was assessed a technical foul during the break. Jason Powell hit both free throws and that sparked a 9-1 Eagle run that made it a one-point (43-42) game with 18:29 left in the contest.

ERAU still trailed by one at the 16-minute mark, but the Saints capitalized on three consecutive Eagle turnovers to widen the gap and led by 13 (84-71) with 3:44 left to play.

The Eagles continued to battle, cutting the lead to six (89-83) following a three-point play by Carter with 54 seconds left. Dalton Barnes picked off the ensuing inbounds pass and drove to the basket, but was unable to convert, giving the ball back to the Saints. OLLU didn't score on any of their next four possessions and although Barnes was able to cut it to four (89-85) with a lay-up, the Eagles ran out of time as Xavier Roberson, who scored a game-high 27 points, knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds showing on the clock to seal the six-point win.

Saturday's contest was the Eagles' last before the Christmas break. The team will be back in action at 6 p.m. on Dec. 30, hosting Salisbury at the ICI Center. That game will be part of the 2013 Land of Magic Classic.