GAMEDAY CENTRAL
NAIA #3 Embry-Riddle (8-0, 0-0) at Webber International (2-5, 0-0)
DATE: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013
CITY: Babson Park, Fla.
SITE: Webber Gym
START: 7 p.m.
SERIES: ERAU leads 40-19
LAST MEETING: ERAU def. WIU 79-78 (OT) on Feb. 25, 2013 in TSC Tournament Semifinals
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Stretch Internet
TWITTER: @ERAUMBasketball
TEXT ALERTS: Sign up at erauathletics.com
THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle and Webber International are meeting in men's basketball for the 60th time.
• At 8-0, the Eagles are off to their best start since 2007 when they opened that season with 13 consecutive wins
• Their No. 3 rating marks the fifth straight season that the Eagles have been ranked in the preseason national polls.
• The preseason national rating is the Eagles' highest since the 2001-02 season when they were ranked third in the preseason poll.
• Tuesday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach
Steve Ridder's 811th career game. He is 588-222 in 25 seasons with the Eagle basketball progam.
THE EAGLES
The third-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team improved to 8-0 on the year by cruising to a 106-79 victory over Florida College on Saturday.
Rico Saldana scored a career-high 23 points for the Blue and Gold as the Eagles raced out to a 50-34 halftime advantage and didn't look back, shooting 52-percent from the field and 46-percent from beyond the arc with four players recording double-digit points.
All five Eagle starters are averaging in double-figures offensively, led by junior
DeForest Carter's 13.5 points per game. Saldana chips in 12.3 while Joasn Powell averages 12.0 per game along with freshman
Dalton Barnes.
Cesar Pastrana adds 10.3 points per game while pulling down 6.8 rebounds for Embry-Riddle. Carter's 6.9 assists per game ranks eighth in the country, while his 2.5 steals per contest is 14th.
SCOUTING WEBBER INTERNATIONAL
John Shoffner is in his 10th season at the helm of the Webber International program, posting a 79-160 overall record. WIU had one of its best seasons under Shoffner last year when the Warriors went 10-6 in league play to finish second. The Warriors fell to the Eagles in the conference tournament semifinals for a 16-12 overall mark.
Webber International is without the services of 2012-13 Newcomer of the Year Brian Pace after a season-ending injury during the offseason, and have dropped five of the first seven games on the schedule. The Warriors have been outscored 546-to-533, despite shooting 45-percent from the field and 39-percent from deep.
THE ERAU-WIU SERIES
Embry-Riddle has been able to win 68-percent of the games against Webber International, holding a 40-19 record. However, in 2012-13, WIU took two of three from the Eagles, including both in the regular season. But, the Eagles did get revenge in the conference tournament, getting just the second-ever triple-double in program history from
DeForest Carter to win an overtime contest 79-78.
THE LAST MEETING
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The third time was the charm for the 16th-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles in their season series against Webber International as the Blue and Gold survived an overtime thriller with the Warriors, 79-78 to secure a spot in the championship game of the 2013 Sun Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. The Eagles (24-8) got just the second triple-double in Embry-Riddle program history from
DeForest Carter en route to eliminating the Warriors (16-12) in the first semifinal contest on Monday evening on the campus of top-seeded Northwood.
Steve Ridder, who coached in his 800
th game at Embry-Riddle, will bring his team to the 14
th conference title game in program history. The Eagles will take on NAIA No. 3 Northwood tomorrow at 7 p.m.
The Eagles needed all 22 of Carter's team-high point total to come away with the win, despite leading by six points with under a minute left in the extra period. Trailing by one, the Warriors had the ball underneath the basket, but when Brian Pace got tied up by the Eagles'
Jason Powell with 1.1 on the clock, the possession arrow favored the Blue and Gold. A long pass to
Daniel Kiesling on the in-bounds play led the freshman to an open area in the front court and the Lexington, Ky. Native dribbled out the clock to preserve the one-point victory.
Embry-Riddle jumped out to an early lead when Carter's layup went through the hoop with 14:39 left in the first, giving the Eagles a 10-4 advantage, but the Warriors battled back on the offensive end and when Johnson Mesidor buried a three-pointer with 11:06 on the clock, the score was tied 13-13.
The Blue and Gold held a slim margin for the rest of the first half until Tyler Auerbacher made his first and only trey to give his team the lead, 27-26 with 4:45 left in the frame. The Eagles got a layup from
Rico Saldana off a Carter assist with 62 seconds remaining, and neither team could muster another point as the Eagles took a 34-33 lead into the break.
It was the Warriors who looked to be in control to open the second half as they went on an 8-2 run to take a 43-46 lead when Michael Bonilla made a driving layup just three minutes into the period.
A 7-0 spurt by the Blue and Gold, capped by a Carter lay-in with 6:13 on the scoreboard gave the Eagles a 56-55 advantage, and the Eagles were able to push it to a four-point lead, but Pace quickly answered with two jumpers to knot the score at 59-59.
Daniel Mondragon hit back-to-back three-pointers with assists from Carter, but Jakeem Hill's dunk with 2:01 would be the final time either team would score in regulation. Mondragon had a good look from the corner as time expired, but the ball circled the rim twice before popping out, sending the game to overtime.
Embry-Riddle scored the first four points in overtime, all free throw shots, to take a 69-65 lead with 3:54 left, and the Eagles increased their advantage to six when Carter made a pair from the charity stripe with 52 seconds remaining.
Mesidor's trey with 31 seconds cut the lead to three, and
Cesar Pastrana went just 1-for-2 at the free throw line before Pace hit a three-pointer to cut the Eagle lead to one at 79-78.
Powell went to the line with 13 seconds left to push the lead to three, but the sophomore was unable to do so, missing both free throws, giving the Warriors a chance to win, but Powell came through on the defensive end, tying Pace up and giving the Eagles' possession with barely any time on the clock.
The Eagles shot 45 percent from the floor and 72 percent from the free throw line, outrebounding the Warriors 42-35.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Heading into his 25th season at the helm of the ERAU men's basketball program, Head Coach
Steve Ridder ranks fifth on the NAIA Division II men's basketball winningest active coaches listing. Ridder has 580 wins in 24 seasons as the Eagles' head coach.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
In addition to leading The Sun Conference players in assists per game (6.88),
DeForest Carter also tops the league listings in total assists (55), is second in steals per game (2.50) and first in total steals (20).
PRESEASON CONFERENCE FAVORITES
The Sun Conference coaches chose Embry-Riddle as the favorite to win the 2013-14 Sun Conference regular season title according to the coaches' poll, which was conducted in October. The Eagles received75 total points, including four first-place votes, followed by Northwood (72), St. Thomas (70), Southeastern (49) and Warner (47).
