GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Bahama House & Best Western Aku Tiki Classic
DATE: Jan. 3-4, 2014
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center
SCHEDULE:
    Friday: Bethany vs. Central Christian, 5 p.m.  •  Trinity International vs. No. 1 Embry-Riddle, 7 p.m.
    Saturday: Consolation Game, 5 p.m.  • Championship Game, 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO: Stretch Internet
ON THE RADIO: WELE 1380 AM

THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle hosts Bethany, Central Christian and Trinity International in the 2014 Bahama House Classic.
• Ranked No. 1, the Eagles are 50-7 all-time as the top-ranked team in the country, including 3-1 in 2013-14.
• 2001-02 was the first year that the Bahama House became the title sponsor of the New Year's tournament.
• Central Christian is the lone team of the three visiting squads to appear in the Bahama House Classic previously (2011-12).
• The next NAIA II Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll will be announced on Jan. 7, 2014.

THE EAGLES
No. 1 Embry-Riddle is off to one ot the best starts in program history, taking an 11-1 record into the 2014 portion of the season. The Eagles are 2-0 in Sun Conference play, and after this weekend's tournament, will return to league play. ERAU ranks in the top 10 in the nation in six categories, including No. 1 in field goal percentage defense (.366) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.255). DeForest Carter is putting together another all-around statistically-packed season, averaging 15.4 points, 7.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Freshman Dalton Barnes is second on the team with 12.3 points per game while Rico Saldana is third with 11.0 points per outing.

LAST TIME OUT
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 (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 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 and the Eagles never looked back.

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.

THE BAHAMA HOUSE & BEST WESTERN AKU TIKI CLASSIC
This weekend marks the 13th Bahama House & Best Western Aku Tiki Classic. Embry-Riddle has captured five consecutive Bahama House Classic titles and 10 total; only Malone (2007-08) and Ohio Dominican (2002-03) are the the other teams to win the tournament.

SCOUTING BETHANY
Head Coach R. Clair Oleen is in his 21st season at the helm of the Swedes program and he has his team off to a 10-3 start. Bethany averages 90.3 points per contest, led by Idris Ibn Idris at 26.8 points per game. Idris also pulls down 6.4 rebounds for Bethany, while Kirby Hawkins chips in 19.8 points for the Swedes.

Bethany has won eight straight games after dropping three straight during the middle of November.

SCOUTING CENTRAL CHRISTIAN
Led by Head Coach Tony Romero, the Tigers of Central Christian enter this weekend's tournament at 11-1 overall and riding a five-game winning streak (excluding exhibition games).

The Tigers average 88.7 pointer per game, paced by Aaron Miller's 21.8. Miller, a 6-2 senior guard, is shooting 49-percent from the field and has made 88 free throws in 103 attempts while also pulling down 5.3 rebounds per contest. Dustin Rohas chips in 11.1 points to the Tiger effort while Kendric Warren is 19th in the country with 9.2 rebounds per game and 14th with 1.7 blocks per game (20 total).

SCOUTING TRINITY INTERNATIONAL
Trinity International is in its sixth season under the coaching of Andy Euler. The Trojans are 3-11 overall and have lost five of their last six games. Of the Trojans' three wins, only one has come against NAIA opponent.

Nate Ball leads the scoring effort for TIU, recording 14.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Trojans while shooting 48-percent from the floor. Ball has registered nine double-doubles in TIU's 14 games in 2013-14. Thomas Amrine (12.9), Justin Peeple (10.8) and Andy Stauffer (10.3) all average double-figures offensively.
The Trojans average 81.3 points per game, but are giving up 90.3 to their opponents as teams are shooting 48-percent against TIU and 36-percent from deep.

EAGLES VS THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Blue and Gold has played just one of the three teams in the tournament field, taking on Central Christian on Jan. 3, 2012 in the Bahama House Classic. The Eagles won that game 90-71 en route to winning the tournament.

1,000-POINT CLUB
Against Our Lady of the Lake (Dec. 14), DeForest Carter scored a team-high 24 points. That total helped the junior become the 27th member of Embry-Riddle's 1,000 Point Club. Carter currently ranks second in the nation in assists per game (7.3) and is already fifth on the all-time assists chart with 471, seventh in blocked shots with 115 and eighth with 177 steals.

THE EAGLES AT NO. 1
The Eagles are 49-7 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.

RETURNING TO DAYTONA
Embry-Riddle graduate Denver Cobb, an assistant coach for the Bethany Swedes, will be returning to the ICI Center this weekend. Cobb was an Eagle from 2005-09, finishing his four-year Blue and Gold career with 1,564 points, good for 10th on the all-time scoring list. He was a two-time All-Conference performer for the Eagles.

BY THE NUMBERS
591 – Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 25th season with ERAU men's basketball
213 – Conference wins in program history
26 – Seasons of Embry-Riddle men's basketball
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
3 – The Eagles' preseason national ranking
1 – NAIA National Championship (2000)