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DAYTONA BEACH – The 16^th-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team celebrated senior night with a 71-58 win over 14^th-ranked Ave Maria in Sun Conference action, Saturday at Embry-Riddle's ICI Center. The Eagles improved their overall record to 22-7 with the win and are now tied for third in the league standings at 9-6.
 
Seniors Jeremiah Applin and Sam Ford started off the scoring for the Eagles with back-to-back threes, but five minutes into the contest, it was Ave Maria who held a 10-7 lead. After forcing an AMU turnover, Cesar Pastrana put back a Jason Powell miss and that basket keyed a 12-2 run that gave ERAU a 19-12 lead with 12:02 left in the first half.
 
The Gyrenes managed to put together a run of their own and reclaimed the lead (22-21) with 7:44 left in the frame, but treys by Powell and Billy Serle helped the Eagles go back on top by seven (30-23). The last five minutes of the first half featured five turnovers and only two made field goals. Both baskets were scored by the Eagles and helped them swell their lead to 36-25 at the break.
 
The first six minutes of the second frame saw ERAU outscore the visitors 10-6 to build the cushion to 17 points (48-31). Although the Eagles were not as productive in their long range shooting in the second half, connecting on just three three-pointers compared to six in the first stanza, they shot 45.2 percent (14-31) from the field, which helped put the game out of reach as they led by 20 (69-49) with 1:55 left to play.
 
A pair of three-pointers by Jonathan Pohlgeers and Jelani Bonner with under a minute to play helped the Gyrenes close the gap, but it was too little too late as AMU dropped its third straight game to move to 21-7 overall and 8-7 in conference play.
 
The Eagles' offense was powered by Pastrana and Powell who recorded 14 points apiece. Pastrana pulled down 12 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the year, while Daniel Mondragon and DeForest Carter dished out five and seven assists, respectively. Four of the five seniors to see action in Saturday's contest got their names into the scoring column. The only senior to not score was Ben Redfield, who passed up a chance at a layup to give Ford the opportunity to add to his tally, showcasing the unselfish play which has characterized his four seasons with the Eagles.
 
The Eagles will close out the regular season on Wednesday when they travel to Lake Wales to take on Sun Conference foe Warner. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.