Thomas (17-12) def. No. 20 Embry-Riddle (24-7) 1st 2nd Final Thomas 34 57 96 Embry-Riddle 39 43 77 Stats at a Glance TU ERAU FG Percentage 32-63 (.508) 24-60 (.400) 3PT FG Percentage 14-23 (.609) 9-25 (.360) FT Percentage 18-22 (.818) 20-31 (.645) Offensive Rebounds 7 9 Defensive Rebounds 34 26 Total Rebounds 41 35 Assists 13 12 Turnovers 14 16 Steals 8 9 Blocks 1 6 Statistical Leaders TU ERAU Points Watkins - 21 Barnes - 25 Rebounds Robinson -14 Carter - 9 Assists Watkins -3 Carter - 3 Steals Watkins - 4 Carter - 3 Blocks Madison - 1 Pastrana -2 Carter -2 Related Links • Boxscore • Season Stats

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The fourth-seeded Embry-Riddle men's basketball team exited the 2014 Sun Conference Tournament following a 96-77 quarterfinal loss to No. 5 seed Thomas at the ICI Center on Saturday. Dalton Barnes was the game's leading scorer, but his 25 points were not enough to push the Eagles past the Night Hawks as ERAU fell to 24-7 on the year, while Thomas moved to 17-12 overall and into the conference tournament semifinal where they will face top-seeded St. Thomas on Monday.

The Eagles recorded the first three points of the contest, but the Night Hawks quickly caught up and a pair of free throws by Dionte Agard sparked a 17-6 run that gave the visitors a 25-12 lead with 6:08 left in the first half. Trey Gosier, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first frame, scored three of his 12 first-half points on a trey at the 4:44 mark to further extend the advantage to 15 points (31-16).

With 3:05 left in the first half and the home team trailing by 13, Reed Ridder drained his first three-pointer of the night and that basket triggered an 11-3 run that allowed the Eagles to close the gap to five points (39-34) at the break.

Five minutes into the second frame, the Eagles were charged with a technical foul that led to four Night Hawk points and a 10-point (53-43) Thomas lead. But the Eagles continued to fight and pulled back within five (55-50) courtesy of a Jason Powell three and a pair of Cesar Pastrana layups with 13:25 left in the contest.

Five of the Eagles' eight points over the next five minutes came from the charity stripe as the ERAU turned the ball over five times and struggled getting their shots to fall. On the other side of the ball, Thomas connected on 12 of its 15 shots from the field and what was once a five-point lead quickly ballooned to 17 points (79-62) with 6:33 left to play.

A staunch defense and strong shooting by Thomas prevented the Eagles from closing the gap and the Night Hawks went 8-for-9 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the 19-point win.

Justyn Watkins was the Night Hawks' leading scorer with 21 points as Thomas finished the game shooting 50.8 percent from the field, 60.9 percent from long range and 81.8 percent in free throws. Gossier finished with 19 points, including a 5-for-5 clip from beyond the arc, and Adonai Rogers added 17 points to the Thomas tally.

Barnes was 7-of-14 from the field and 10-of-13 from the charity strip to go with four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Reed Ridder totaled 14 points and five rebounds, while Cesar Pastrana chipped in 12 points and seven boards.

The Eagles will have to wait and see if they will be awarded an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship to continue their postseason run. The 10 at-large bids will be awarded based on the final NAIA Division II men's basketball Coaches Poll, scheduled for release on Wednesday evening.