GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle vs. Northwood
DATE: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 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, 11-9
LAST MEETING: ERAU 70, NU 68 • Dec. 5, 2013 - West Palm Beach, Fla.
THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle and Northwood will be playing for the 21st in men's basketball on Wednesday evening.
• Northwood will try to snap a two-game losing streak when they come to Daytona this week.
• The third-ranked Eagles have concluded one half of the conference schedule and Wednesday's game marks the beginning of the second half.
• Wednesday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 824th career game.
THE EAGLES
After Saturday's historic, 59-58 win over Warner, giving Steve Ridder his 600th career victory, the Eagles will need to refocus on rival Northwood. Embry-Riddle, despite playing a lackluster game against Warner, still leads the country in defensive field goal percentage at 38-percent (461-1226) and three-point field goal percentage at 29-percent (122-425).
DeForest Carter (15.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 6.6 apg) and Dalton Barnes (13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.9 spg) have been the catalysts for the Blue and Gold, leading the Eagles offensively in 14 of the team's 21 games. Cesar Pastrana averages 9.4 points and 7.4 rebounds for Embry-Riddle and Jason Powell adds 9.6 points per outing.
In seven career games against Northwood, Carter has led the Eagles in scoring in six, including a career-high 30-point effort in last seasons Sun Conference Tournament title game. Barnes scored 16 points in his first game against the Seahawks in December.
Last Time Out
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Dalton Barnes' layup hung on the rim for a split second before falling through with 1.2 seconds left in the ICI Center on Saturday night. 1.2 seconds later Embry-Riddle Head Coach Steve Ridder celebrated his 600th career victory as the No. 3 Eagles came from behind to survive an upset bid from Warner, 59-58. The win comes 823 games into Ridder's career, making him the second-fastest NAIA coach to reach the 600-win plateau. The Eagles (19-2, 8-1) trailed by as many as 10 points to the Royals (9-11, 2-7), including a one-point deficit with 41 seconds left, but Barnes' bucket with less than two seconds on the clock sealed the victory for Embry-Riddle.
Embry-Riddle got 17 points from the freshman Barnes, including the last six Eagle points of the contest to down a depleted Warner side that suited up just eight players and played only seven. Embry-Riddle had to battle through 15 turnovers and a 39-percent shooting effort to win its 19th game of the 2013-14 season and keep pace with St. Thomas in the league standings.
Warner scored the first points of the game via an and-one by Brandon Poore, pushing the advantage to 12-4 on a Warren Hall three-pointer with 15:53 left in the first, leading to Ridder bringing in five Eagles off the bench at the next dead ball. The Eagle backups cut the deficit to 16-11 on a Reed Ridder trey, but a quick 5-0 run by the Royals kept the visitors in front by double figures. Andy Schleitwiler hit a shot from deep as the Warner lead shrunk to seven and after the ERAU starters returned to the floor Jason Powell's jumper in the paint brought the score to 21-16 in favor of WU.
A 11-2 Eagle run that started with three minutes remaining in the period gave Embry-Riddle a 27-26 lead, capped by a Ridder fastbreak jumper off a DeForest Carter pass. However, Antonio Ansley, who scored 13 points in the half, hit a three at the buzzer to reclaim the lead for Warner at 29-27.
The Royals kept the Blue and Gold at bay for the first four minutes of the second half, but a Barnes layup and Powell three-pointer gave Embry-Riddle a two-point lead at 35-33. The Eagles grew their lead to four when Cesar Pastrana converted a pair of free throws with 13 minutes left, but a quick 6-0 run by Warner put the visitors in front, 40-38.
Two Powell free throws sparked a 9-0 run by Embry-Riddle as Powell, Carter and Ridder connected on shots over the next 60 seconds, but again the Royals answered, this time with a 7-0 run that knotted the game at 47-47 with nine minutes remaining.
The Eagles held a lead of no more than five over the next eight minutes, but were unable to put the Royals away and Mitch Rice's triple with 41 seconds left gave the Royals a chance at the upset.
Carter missed a jumper with 21 seconds. but following a defensive rebound and Eagle foul, Josh Ellis missed the front-end of a one-and-one, allowing the Eagles another chance to claim the lead.
With 11 seconds left, Barnes missed a contested layup and again Ellis rebounded and was fouled. Fortunately for the Eagles, Ellis' free throw had the same result as his earlier try, giving ERAU one final shot at the win.
Carter found Barnes on the right side of the floor and the Port Orange, Fla. native drove to the baseline before laying in the game-winner. The subsequent Royals' in-bounds pass was deflected as the Eagles held on for the 59-58 decision.
Barnes recorded a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, the first of his collegiate career, while Ridder was the only other Eagle to score in double figures at 10. Carter scored nine points and dished out six assists while the Eagles dominated the boards 45-26.
SCOUTING NORTHWOOD
The Seahawks will be attempting to prevent history on Wednesday. Northwood has not lost three consecutive games since the program's inception before the 2006-07 season. Head Coach Rollie Massimino has 732 victories as a head coach, including 216 while at Northwood.
NU averages 81.7 points per contest, shooting 46-percent (605-1314) from the floor and 34-percent (111-323) from long range. Northwood is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, averaging 41.0 boards per game, as well as 17.0 assists and 8.8 steals.
Chris Solomon leads the team with 21.0 points per game, hitting 72 threes, the fifth-most in NAIA II. Fred Mattison adds 14.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for NU while Chris Lee (9.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Jake Lockhart (9.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg) are also major contributors to the Seahawk cause.
THE ERAU-NU SERIES
Wednesday's game marks the 21st meeting between the Eagles and Seahawks, with Embry-Riddle holding an 11-9 advantage, including a 70-68 win in West Palm Beach earlier this season. ERAU will be trying to make it three consecutive wins against Northwood, a streak that would tie either team's longest in the series.
BY THE NUMBERS
1,167 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 19 on the all-time scoring list
600 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 25th season with ERAU men's basketball
520 - Career rebounds by Cesar Pastrana
219 - 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
3 - 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 600 wins in 25 seasons as the Eagles' head coach. |
Embry-Riddle (19-2, 8-1)
vs.
Northwood (15-5, 6-3)
1/29/14 | Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center | 7 p.m.
(2013-14 Stats)
|
Stats at a Glance |
NU |
ERAU |
|
Scoring Average |
81.7 |
78.4 |
|
FG Percentage |
.460 (605-1314) |
.495 (594-1199) |
|
3PT FG Percentage |
.344 (111-323) |
.346 (140-405) |
|
FT Percentage |
.683 (312-457) |
.690 (319-462) |
|
Rebounds |
41.0 |
40.1 |
|
Assists |
17.0 |
19.0 |
|
Turnovers |
16.3 |
16.5 |
|
Steals |
8.8 |
9.0 |
|
Related Links |
|
• 2013-14 Embry-Riddle Stats |
|
• NAIA National Rankings |
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