DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The NAIA II No. 1 Embry-Riddle Eagles returned from a two week layoff on Monday evening and cruised to a 73-52 win over NCAA III Salisbury in the final game of the 2013 Land of Magic Classic. The Eagles (11-1) were coming off their first loss of the year on Dec. 14, a 91-85 setback on the road against Our Lady of the Lake, but registered the 11th win of the season with a stifling defensive effort as the Sea Gulls (3-6) managed just 25 percent from the floor.
Salisbury, playing its third game in as many days, took an early 5-0 lead on a trey from Gordon Jeter, but the Eagles scored the next 10 points, including a pair of buckets from
Rico Saldana to take a 10-5 lead, never trailing again.
A
Dalton Barnes jumper pushed the Eagle lead to 20-10 with 11:50 left in the first, but SU recorded eight straight to cut the lead to 20-18 with seven minutes remaining.
Daniel Kiesling and
Jason Powell both knocked down triples, sandwhiched around another Barnes jumper as the Blue and Gold moved up 28-21. The hosts went on to end the half on a 16-9 run to go into the break leading 44-30.
The Sea Gulls shot 18 three-pointers in the opening half, connecting on six of them, as all but one of their first half made field goals was from beyond the arc. Embry-Riddle got nine points from Barnes and seven each from Carter and Powell while shooting 68-percent in the first period.
The second half was controlled by the Eagle defense as SU shot just 24-percent, including 12-percent from three-point range.
Carter scored the first five ERAU points of the second half, including his second trey and a fastbreak jumper before the Eagle big men recorded the next five to push the Eagle lead to 54-33.
Powell's triple at the 11:19 mark ballooned the lead to 64-37 and the rest of the game belonged to the benches as every Eagle and Sea Gull in uniform made an appearance in the contest.
Carter led all scorers with 18, also grabbing five rebounds, registering seven assists, two blocks and two steals in the win. Powell had 10 points for ERAU, while both Kiesling and Barnes chipped in nine.
Embry-Riddle returns to action on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 against Trinity International (Ill.) in the Bahama House & Best Western Aku Tiki Shootout.
