DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Another dominant defensive effort by the NAIA II No. 1 Embry-Riddle Eagles was complimented by one of their best offensive games of the season as the Blue and Gold cruised past Trinity International (Ill.) in the first round of the Bahama House & Best Western Aku Tiki Shootout on Friday night, 98-53. The Eagles (12-1) advance to play Central Christian (Kan.) in Saturday's championship game at 7 p.m. while the Trojans (3-12) will take on Bethany (Kan.) in the consolation contest at 5 p.m. Central Christian withstood a Bethany comeback attempt in Friday's opener, coming away with an 80-76 win.
The Eagles won their 11th straight game in the Bahama House Shootout, holding TIU to just 33-percent from the floor, 27-percent from deep and outrebounding the Trojans by 17 (45-28). Embry-Riddle's offense was clicking from the start of the game as the Eagles ended the night shooting 56-percent from the field and 53-percent from long range while racking up a season-high 33 assists on 38 made baskets, just five short of the single-game record of 38 against Lyndon State in 2004.
The Trojans, who were held 0-for-13 from deep in the second half, began the game on fire from three-point land, hitting their first three triples from beyond the arc, including a Sam Salem triple at the 17:23 mark to give the visitors an 8-6 lead in the early going.
After back-to-back mid-range jumpers from the Trojans pushed their lead to 12-6, the home team responded, going on a 22-4 run, getting three consecutive layups from
Cesar Pastrana and
DeForest Carter, followed by a pair of treys and layup from
Reed Ridder to give the Blue and Gold a 20-15 lead.
Carter, Ridder and
Dalton Barnes accounted for the next eight Eagle points thanks to easy layups and junior
Hudson Cadet got in on the action with a layup at the 10:10 mark that extended the ERAU lead to 30-18.
Embry-Riddle went on to score 20 more points in the final 10 minutes of the first period, including three-balls from Ridder, Carter and
Jason Powell. Carter ended the half with an acrobatic reverse layup with less than four seconds on the clock to account for the 54-34 halftime score.
The Eagles scored 34 of their 54 first half points in the paint while the Trojans were held to just four points in the lane. The hosts also forced 16 turnovers in the opening period, turning them into 24 points on the offensive end.
Embry-Riddle opened the second half on a 10-4 run to go up 64-38 on a Barnes and-one play and the Eagles pushed the lead even larger at 76-46 when
Brandon Serle made a layup just under 10 minutes left in the game.
Andy Schleitwiler found Cadet under the basket at the 6:31 mark and the Chicago, Ill. native did the rest, recording a dunk that gave the Eagles an 82-48 advantage.
Schleitwiler found the bottom of the net as well for the Eagles, scoring a career-high nine points on three long range baskets.
Four Eagles scored in double-figures in the contest, led by Ridder's career-high 19, Carter's 18 and Barnes 14 and Cadet's 10.
Daniel Kiesling grabbed a game-high and career-high 12 rebounds for the Blue and Gold while Carter dished out seven assists and Barnes recorded six assists and five steals.
Nate Ball led the Trojans with 12 points while Andy Stauffer registered a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles will be looking to capture their sixth straight Bahama House Shootout title when they take on the Tigers of Central Christian tomorrow. The two teams also met in this tournament in 2012 when the Eagles won 90-71.
