GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Embry-Riddle vs. Ave Maria
DATE: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 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, 9-1
LAST MEETING: ERAU 79, AMU 60 • Jan. 23, 2013 - Ave Maria, Fla.
THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle and Ave Maria will be playing for 11th time in men's basketball.
• The Gyrenes have won three of their last four games with wins over Warner, Thomas and Florida Memorial.
• ERAU is 14-2 at home in 2013-14.
• Saturday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 831st career game.
THE EAGLES
Embry-Riddle hopes to finish the 2013-14 regular season on a high note with its last two contests, including Wednesday against Ave Maria and Saturday at Warner. The Eagles are guaranteed a home game in The Sun Conference quarterfinals and could finish as high as second in the league standings, and no lower than fourth. The Eagles got back in the win column last Saturday with an 81-66 victory over Webber International, led by junior Cesar Pastrana's double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Pastrana is the third-leading scorer for the Blue and Gold at 9.8 points per contest, trailing DeForest Carter's 14.6 and Dalton Barnes' 13.0 points per game. Pastrana paces the Eagle rebounding effort with 7.3 per outing while Carter dishes out 6.1 assists and records 2.8 steals per game. Carter moved into 17th all-time in ERAU history with 1,254 career points.
As a team, the Eagles have relied on solid defense to tally the program's 20th 20-win season, holding opponents to just 39-percent from the floor and 30-percent from deep. The Blue and Gold has also manged to outrebound teams 40-32 while dishing out 18.0 assists and forcing 15.5 turnovers per contest.
Last Time Out
The 19th-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team shrugged off two straight losses to claim an 81-66 decision over Webber International on Saturday night in the ICI Center. The Eagles (22-6, 11-5) returned home after a pair of close defeats to ranked opponents Southeastern and St. Thomas, pulling away late from the Warriors (8-19, 4-12) for Steve Ridder's 603rd career victory.
Embry-Riddle led by two with 9:26 left in the game before ending the contest on a 30-17 run to complete the season sweep of Webber International. Cesar Pastrana led the way for the Blue and Gold, securing a double-double with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles grabbed 20 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second chance points which proved to be the difference in the game.
Both teams connected on numerous threes, including Markitis Paige to begin the contest to give the visitors a 3-0 lead. ERAU went up by three when Dalton Barnes buried a trey at the 15:15 mark, and the home team never trailed again.
Pastrana and Kiesling scored a couple jumpers in the paint before Brandon Serle came off the bench and hit a triple at the 11:53 mark, expanding the ERAU advantage to double digits.
WIU went on a mini 6-0 run to get within 22-17 on Sean Jowers' free throw just over seven minutes left in the first, but the Eagles kept a three-possession lead thanks to the inside play of Pastrana, Rico Saldana and Hudson Cadet.
DeForest Carter nailed a long range jumper for a 31-23 Eagle lead before Pastrana layed one in a few moments later as the advantage again grew to double digits.
Jowers' jumper with 64 seconds left pulled WIU within 35-30, but Barnes ended the half by beating his defender to the basket for a layup to go into the break with a 37-30 ERAU cushion.
Barnes led all scorers at the half with 11 on 5-of-9 shooting, and the ERAU defense held Webber International to just 36-percent from the field.
Webber International failed to go away quietly, and after starting the second half in a slump, got within two points at 51-49 on a Nate Morrell jumper under 10 minutes to go.
Carter answered with a three-ball before Barnes added a jumper, as the two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes. Jason Powell's three-pointer with six minutes remaining brought the crowd to its feet and the Eagles enjoyed a 61-53 advantage that grew to 65-53 as Pastrana made the Warriors pay inside and Daniel Kiesling did the same from outside the arc as his three with 3:45 left seemed to put the finishing touched on WIU.
The visitors never got closer than 14 the rest of the game in dropping their sixth consecutive contest.
Complimenting Pastrana's 16 points and 11 rebounds were Carter's 14 points, five assists and three steals and Barnes 13 points and nine boards. Reed Ridder was the other Eagle in double figures with 11 points.
SCOUTING AVE MARIA
Head Coach Ken Dagostino, in his first season at the helm of the Gyrene program, has Ave Maria playing some of its best basketball over the last few games. AMU has won three of its last four contests, thanks in part to the return of Wendell Powell. The forward from Palm Coast, Fla. has averaged 14.0 points for Ave Maria all season, shooting nearly 50-percent from the floor.
Interestingly enough, neither Powell nor leading scorer Matt Chattin have started for Ave Maria over the last four games. Chattin is third in The Sun Conference at 20.0 points per game, shooting 50-percent from the field and 46-percent from beyond the arc where he has recorded 58 threes, ranking fourth overall in the league.
The Gyrenes have allowed opponents to shoot 44-percent in 2013-14 while shooting 46-percent themselves. AMU has been outscored by an average of 4.2 points per game in conference action while being outrebounded 30-28.
THE ERAU-AMU SERIES
Wednesday's game marks the 11th meeting between the Eagles and Gyrenes with ERAU holding a 9-1 advantage all-time. Last season, Ave Maria knocked off the Eagles for the first time in school history with a 95-89 win in Ave Maria on Jan. 17. ERAU was able to answer with a 71-58 victory in Daytona Beach a month later, and won 70-60 in Ave Maria on Jan. 23 of this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
1,254 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 18 on the all-time scoring list
603 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 25th season with ERAU men's basketball
569 - Career rebounds pulled down by Cesar Pastrana
222 - 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 - NAIA National Championship (2000)
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 603 wins in 25 seasons as the Eagles' head coach. |
Embry-Riddle (22-6, 11-5)
vs.
Ave Maria (11-16, 5-11)
2/19/14 | Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center | 7 p.m.
(2013-14 Stats)
|
Stats at a Glance |
AMU |
ERAU |
|
Scoring Average |
68.6 |
75.9 |
|
FG Percentage |
.463 (655-1416) |
.476 (765-1607) |
|
3PT FG Percentage |
.360 (162-450) |
.335 (180-537) |
|
FT Percentage |
.710 (379-534) |
.688 (415-603) |
|
Rebounds |
31.4 |
40.2 |
|
Assists |
12.4 |
18.0 |
|
Turnovers |
15.0 |
16.3 |
|
Steals |
6.2 |
8.6 |
|
Related Links |
|
• 2013-14 Embry-Riddle Stats |
|
• NAIA National Rankings |
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