LAKELAND, Fla. – After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, No. 21 Embry-Riddle outscored Southeastern 49-34 in the second half to take a 79-71 win over Southeastern in Sun Conference action on Wednesday. The win improved the Eagles' overall record to 20-6 overall (7-5 in league play) and secured the program's 18th 20-win season under the guidance of Head Coach Steve Ridder.

The Eagles had a balanced scoring performance as all five starters finished in double figures, led by DeForest Carter (19 points) and Jason Powell (18 points). Rico Saldana (10 points) and Cesar Pastrana (12 points) led the Eagles on the boards with seven rebounds apiece, while Carter led all players with nine assists on the night. As a team, the Eagles shot 46.7 percent (28-60), including at 51 percent (17-33) in the second frame, and were 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.

Southeastern was the more energetic of the two sides to start the game and quickly jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first five minutes of play. ERAU struggled to get into its rhythm offensively and that, coupled with nine first-half turnovers, allowed Southeastern to extend its advantage to 12 points (26-14) with 8:31 minutes left in the half.

Powell's first three-point basket of the night keyed an 11-4 run that pulled the Blue and Gold within five points (30-25) at the 3:40 mark. A bucket and a free throw by Mitchell Wiggins, who had 13 points at the half, helped the Fire build their lead back up to 10 points, but Daniel Mondragon (15 points)  hit a trey with 19 seconds left to cut the lead to 37-30 at the intermission.

Mondragon started the second half the way he ended the first, with a long-range shot and that sparked a 5-0 run to make it a two-point game. Nathan Howard stopped the run briefly with a layup, but a pair of Carter layups and a jumper and another three-pointer by Mondragon gave the Eagles their first lead of the night, 42-41, with 16:32 left to play.

Over the next three minutes, neither team was able to add to its scoring tally. Powell ended the scoring drought with three points the old-fashioned way, sparking a 10-1 run that increased the Eagle lead to 54-42 at the 11:16 mark.

Following a dunk by Wiggins, Brandon Moore took over the offense for the Fire and registered Southeastern's next 11 points to cut the lead to 60-55 with 7:32 left on the clock. The Eagles withstood the Moore onslaught and, with the help of a pair of two-handed slams by Saldana and Pastrana, they were able to build the lead back up to 12 (69-57).

Southeastern responded with another run, and this time, managed to make it four-point game with 1:37 remaining. The Fire then sought to lengthen the game by sending the Eagles to the foul line on every possession, but ERAU was up to the task and knocked down eight of its last 10 free throws down the stretch to pull out the eight-point victory.

Wiggins led all scorers with 22 points, while Moore added 21 points as the Fire moved to 14-11 overall and 5-8 in conference play.

The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Miami to take on St. Thomas, currently ranked 12th in the NAIA and second in the league standings. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.