GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle vs. St. Thomas
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center
TIP-OFF: 7 p.m. ET
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO: Stretch Internet
ON THE RADIO: WELE 1380 AM
SERIES: ERAU leads, 21-18
LAST MEETING: ERAU 72, STU 63 - Feb. 9, 2013 - Miami Gardens, Fla.
THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle and St. Thomas are meeting in men's basketball for the 40th time.
• Tonight's game is being billed as the NAIA II Men's Basketball Game of the Week.
• The Bobcats are trying to get back to the NAIA National Tournament for the third consecutive season.
• The top-ranked Eagles are playing their 64th game ranked No. 1. Embry-Riddle is 56-7 all-time while ranked No. 1.
• Saturday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 821st career game.
THE EAGLES
Embry-Riddle enters Saturday's contest riding a seven game winning streak and holding a perfect 6-0 mark in Sun Conference action. The Eagles square off with a St. Thomas team that has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams, including an 81-78 upset of the then-No. 2 Eagles last season in the ICI Center.
The Blue and Gold has made its mark defensively, leading the nation in both field goal percentage defense at 38-percent (394-1067) and three-point field goal percentage defense at 27-percent (100-368). On the other end of the floor, the Eagles rank first in The Sun Conference with a 50-percent (525-1043) clip from the field and is second at 36-percent (123-345) from long range.
DeForest Carter, a three-time TSC Player of the Week, leads ERAU with 16.3 points, 6.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per contest. Freshman Dalton Barnes adds 12.6 points, 4.6 boards and 2.9 assists while juniors Jason Powell (10.1) and Cesar Pastrana (9.7) rank third and fourth on the squad offensively.
Last Time Out
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The 17th win of the 2013-14 season didn't come easy for the top-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team, but the Eagles were able to outlast the visiting Southeastern Fire on Wednesday night, 77-69 in the ICI Center. Embry-Riddle (17-1, 6-0) saw an 18-point second-half lead shrink to four on a couple occasions late in the contest, but the Eagles never allowed Southeastern (13-3, 4-2) within a possession during the final period.
Embry-Riddle remained the only one-loss team in NAIA Division II by shooting 55-percent from the floor and 47-percent from long range, including 57-percent field goal percentage in the second half. The Eagles were able to contain the Fire offensive output to just 69 points, 21 fewer than SEU averages for the season.
Trailing 27-16 in the first half, Southeastern quickly ran off a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four with just under six minutes left in the half, but DeForest Carter hit a trey to end the Eagle draught. Carter scored the final point of the half at the free throw line for a 37-31 Eagle lead, as neither defense allowed a bucket for the final two minutes of the period.
Embry-Riddle showcased a methodical shooting clinic to begin the second half, making the first nine shots it took from the floor as the advantage grew to 58-40 with 13 minutes remaining in the game. That trend stopped there however as the Eagles failed to score another point for six minutes, allowing the Fire to reel off 12 unanswered points, including seven from Johnson, to trim the cushion to six points at 58-52.
A Cadet free throw ended the Southeastern run, but Johnson got to the hoop on the next Fire possession, laying the ball in as the score moved to 59-54 in favor of the hosts.
Both team's defenses tightened up over the final few minutes of play with the Eagles earning their points at the charity stripe, including a pair from Carter for a 67-58 Eagle advantage with five minutes left.
After trading a pair of two-point possessions, Powell hit the biggest shot of the night, a three off a Saldana pass that pushed the Embry-Riddle lead to seven and brought the Eagle fan base to its feet.
With 90 seconds left, Jake Hodges scored the final two of his 19 points before Carter answered with a layup of his own. Good defense from Embry-Riddle challenged Johnson on his jumper in the lane with 26 seconds left and a defensive rebound gave the Eagles the ball in the backcourt.
Following a timeout, Carter, the in-bounder, threw a football pass to a streaking Powell in the frontcourt, resulting in an easy lay-in and sealing the victory for the Blue and Gold.
Carter finished with 19 points and 10 assists for his third double-double of the year, while Powell (14), Barnes (12) and Saldana (12) all finished in double figures offensviely. Adding to Carter's 10 assists, both Powell and Barnes had five for the Eagles and Cadet pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.
SCOUTING ST. THOMAS
In his second season at St. Thomas, Patrick Gayle has his team pointed towards a return-trip to Point Lookout, Mo. and the NAIA II National Tournament. The Bobcats' roster features eight seniors and two juniors, including All-Conference performers from a season ago, Kevin Hincapie and Demonte' Simpson.
St. Thomas averages 79.8 points per game with a 49-percent shooting clip from the floor. The Bobcats have four players averaging more than 10 points per game, paced by Floyd Battle's 16.1 points per contest.
Hincapie, who is second in the nation with 3.2 steals per game, adds 15.2 points per game and 3.6 assists each outing. Simpson brings 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds to the STU effort, while Demetris Allen chips in 10.9 points per game for the Bobcats.
THE ERAU-STU SERIES
Tonight's game marks 40th meeting between the Eagles and Bobcats as Embry-Riddle holds a 21-18 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, each team won on the other's home floor, including the Bobcats' upset of then-No. 2 Embry-Riddle on Jan. 12 in the ICI Center.
BY THE NUMBERS
1,138 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 20 on the all-time scoring list
598 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 25th season with ERAU men's basketball
217 - Conference wins in program history
25 - Seasons under the guidance of Head Coach Steve Ridder
13 - NAIA National Tournament appearances
10 - Sun Conference Tournament titles
8 - Regular season conference championships
1 - The Eagles' current national ranking
1 - NAIA National Championship (2000)
THE EAGLES AT NO. 1
The Eagles are 56-7 all-time as the top-ranked team in the land. Embry-Riddle spent the entire 2000-01 season at No. 1, going 32-4 and went 15-2 in 2006 as the top-ranked squad. The Eagles have been ranked in the top 10 in 113 polls all-time.
BEST START SINCE...
At 17-1, the Eagles are off to the best start to a season since the 2007-08 edition of the team who started 18-1. Embry-Riddle has recorded starts of 24-1 (2005-06) and 26-1 (2000-01) before suffering a second loss.
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).
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 598 wins in 25 seasons as the Eagles' head coach. |
Embry-Riddle (17-1, 6-0)
vs.
St. Thomas (12.4, 5-1)
1/18/13 | Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center | 7 p.m.
(2013-14 Stats)
|
Stats at a Glance |
STU |
ERAU |
|
Scoring Average |
79.8 |
80.8 |
|
FG Percentage |
.486 (447-919) |
.503 (525-1043) |
|
3PT FG Percentage |
.310 (58-187) |
.357 (123-345) |
|
FT Percentage |
.593 (245-413) |
.701 (282-402) |
|
Rebounds |
36.7 |
40.1 |
|
Assists |
12.3 |
19.4 |
|
Turnovers |
17.4 |
16.3 |
|
Steals |
11.2 |
9.3 |
|
Related Links |
|
• 2013-14 Embry-Riddle Stats |
|
• NAIA National Rankings |
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