GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle vs. Warner
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 25, 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, 42-14
THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle and Warner will be playing for the 57th time in men's basketball tonight.
• The Royals are looking to snap a three-game losing streak, as well as a four-game road losing streak.
• The third-ranked Eagles finish up one-half of their Sun Conference schedule tonight and will have played every team once.
• Saturday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 823rd career game.
THE EAGLES
Embry-Riddle enters Saturday's contest after getting back in the win column on Thursday with a 70-60 road win at Ave Maria. The Eagles overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to outscore the Gyrenes 36-19 in the second half for the victory. Freshman Dalton Barnes led the way for ERAU with 20 points while three other Eagles registered 12 points.
The Eagles still lead the country in defensive fied goal percentage at 37-percent (439-1176) and three-point field goal percentage at 28-percent (114-405). The Blue and Gold is also among the best in the nation in sharing the ball, averaging 19.4 assists per contest, the second-best mark in NAIA II.
DeForest Carter (15.7 ppg) and Barnes (13.1 ppg) lead the Eagles offensively, while the other three ERAU starters average at least 9.3 points per outing. Carter also averages 6.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game while Cesar Pastrana pulls down a team-leading 7.5 rebounds for Embry-Riddle. The junior from Cartagena, Colombia has amassed 513 rebounds in his three-year Eagle career.
Last Time Out
The third-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles turned up the defensive intensity in the second half of Thursday's 70-60 road win over Ave Maria, turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a 10-point win with a 36-19 advantage in the final period. Embry-Riddle (18-2, 7-1) held the Gyrenes (7-12, 1-7) to just 25-percent from the field in the second half, including a 2-for-12 effort from long range to earn the 599th win in Head Coach Steve Ridder's career.
The Gyrenes shot at a 63-percent clip in the opening half, shooting 7-for-12 from long range thanks to Matt Chattin and John Russo's three-point shooting. The Eagles found themselves in a 12-point hole midway through the first half, but the visitors were able to get within seven at the break.
Rico Saldana scored the first basket of the game with a jumper, but Russo answered with a triple, the first of seven the hosts hit in the opening half. After a Dalton Barnes trey, Saldana again hit a jump shot as ERAU stretched its leads to 7-3.
The Gyrenes battled back to take a slim lead before going up 17-13 on a Chattin three with 13 minutes on the clock, and a Russo conversion a few minutes later from deep made the score 27-15 in favor of AMU.
Looking for a spark, the Eagles turned to Reed Ridder who came off the bench to hit a big trey with 8:18 left in the half, ending an Ave Maria run.
The Eagles got to within seven at the break on a DeForest Carter bucket in the paint, following a Russo three that had AMU up by nine.
Barnes scored the first four points of the second half and the Eagles went on an 8-2 run to cut the Gyrene lead to 43-41 in under four minutes of play. Chattin hit back-to-back threes on the next two Gyrene possessions as AMU went up 49-46 with 14 minutes left, but the Eagles would not allow AMU to hit another from deep.
Ridder's second three of the night cut the deficit to 52-51 and Cesar Pastrana put the visitors up for good with a layup off a Daniel Kiesling assist on the next trip down the floor.
Jason Powell hit a three-pointer and Ridder followed with his third of the evening as Embry-Riddle grew its lead to 60-52 with 7:32 left in the second half.
ERAU held a comfortable lead over the final five minutes of the contest as the Gyrenes couldn't find anything to work offensively.
Barnes led the Eagles with 20 points and five assists while Saldana, Pastrana and Ridder all added 12 points for the Blue and Gold.
Embry-Riddle shot 60-percent for the game, recording 20 assists on 27 field goals and outrebounded Ave Maria 29-20.
SCOUTING WARNER
The Royals have lost three straight and seven of their last eight games, stretching back to Dec. 28, 2013. In their last game, the Royals fell to Thomas, 86-73 at home, despite shooting 50-percent from the floor and forcing 17 Night Hawk turnovers. Warner is shooting 44-percent for the season, including a 34-percent clip from long range.
Eddie Delegal, who has made four starts, averages 18.4 points per game for Warner, grabbing 6.5 rebounds and shooting 41-percent from three-point land. Warren Hall brings 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds to the Royal effort every game and Mitch Rice is the team's three-point threat with 40 makes on the year.
THE ERAU-WU SERIES
Tonight's game marks 57th meeting between the Eagles and Royals with Embry-Riddle holding a 41-14 all-time advantage in the series. Last season, the Eagles and Royals split their regular season series with each team winning at home, but the Eagles were able to claim the rubber match in The Sun Conference Tournament with an 87-75 win in the quarterfinals.
BY THE NUMBERS
1,158 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 19 on the all-time scoring list
599 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 25th season with ERAU men's basketball
218 - 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)
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 599 wins in 25 seasons as the Eagles' head coach. |
Embry-Riddle (18-2, 7-1)
vs.
Warner (9-10, 2-6)
1/25/13 | Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center | 7 p.m.
(2013-14 Stats)
|
Stats at a Glance |
WU |
ERAU |
|
Scoring Average |
77.7 |
79.4 |
|
FG Percentage |
.440 (486-1105) |
.500 (574-1147) |
|
3PT FG Percentage |
.343 (137-400) |
.352 (135-383) |
|
FT Percentage |
.731 (367-502) |
.695 (305-439) |
|
Rebounds |
33.4 |
39.9 |
|
Assists |
12.8 |
19.4 |
|
Turnovers |
12.1 |
16.6 |
|
Steals |
6.8 |
9.1 |
|
Related Links |
|
• 2013-14 Embry-Riddle Stats |
|
• NAIA National Rankings |
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