MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – After trailing by as many as eight points in the first half, No. 21 Embry-Riddle outscored No. 12 St. Thomas 46-35 in the second half to take a 72-63 win over the Bobcats in Sun Conference action on Saturday night. The win improved the Eagle's overall record to 21-6 overall (8-5 in league play) and moves the Blue and Gold into a three-way tie for second with Ave Maria and St. Thomas.
The Eagles' were led by
Jason Powell who tied a career-high with 19 points, while the bench scored 32 for Embry-Riddle, led by
Jeremiah Applin (13 points) and
Sam Ford (12).
Cesar Pastrana (seven points) and
DeForest Carter (seven points) led the Eagles on the boards with 16 and 10, respectively. The 16 rebounds are a career-high for Pastrana. As a team, the Eagles shot 35.8 percent (19-53) including 40.7 percent (11-27) in the second frame, and were 29-of-41 from the charity stripe.
The Eagles got off to a solid start, as
Jason Powell gave the Blue and Gold a 5-0 lead in the first four minutes of play. ERAU fell out of rhythm quickly as the Bobcats went on a 14-2 run over the next 6:20 to take a 14-7 lead over the Eagles with 12:04 left in the first half.
Ford's first basket of the night ended the run for the Bobcats and a pair of free throws from Powell pulled the Eagles to within three (14-11) with 9:58 left in the frame. St. Thomas wasn't ready to quit as Kevin Hincapie scored five of the teams next 10 points, including one of four first-half three-pointers, to give the Bobcats their largest lead of the night, eight points (24-16), at the 5:15 mark. The two teams traded baskets until a
Billy Serle three, his only points of the night, cut the lead to four with 59 seconds to play in the half. Applin hit two free throws to cut the lead to 28-26 at the intermission.
After the Bobcats' Demonte Simpson extended the lead to four, Powell and
Daniel Mondragon scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game. A minute later,
Rico Saldana hit a pair of free throws to give the Eagles their first lead, 32-30, since the 16:12 mark of the first half.
The two teams would trade the lead six times over the next six minutes until Applin hit another three that sparked an 8-0 run by ERAU, extending the lead to 49-41, with 9:22 to play. However, Hincapie got hot again scoring nine of the next 11 points as STU went on an 11-0 run to take a three point lead at the 6:38 mark.
Simpson hit a free throw to tie the game at 55, the ninth tie of the game, before the Eagles were able to seize control. Powell's free throw with 4:21 left in the game gave ERAU a 56-55 lead that they would not relinquish. The Eagles iced the game at the free throw line making 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in the final minute of play to escape with the 72-63 victory.
Hincapie led all scorers with 28 points, while Simpson added 10 points as the Bobcats moved to 18-8 overall and 8-5 in conference play.
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 13, when they return to Daytona Beach to take on Webber International. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
