No. 10 Midland (27-5) def. No. 21 Embry-Riddle (24-8) 1st 2nd Final Midland 38 31 69 Embry-Riddle 31 30 61 Stats at a Glance MU ERAU FG Percentage 22-46 (.478) 20-56 (.357) 3PT FG Percentage 8-19 (.421) 6-24 (.250) FT Percentage 17-22 (.773) 15-24 (.625) Offensive Rebounds 5 13 Defensive Rebounds 30 22 Total Rebounds 35 35 Assists 13 13 Turnovers 11 7 Steals 3 6 Blocks 2 3 Statistical Leaders MU ERAU Points Imig - 23 Barnes - 14 Rebounds Starkel - 8 Barnes/Carter - 6 Assists Imig - 6 Carter - 6 Steals Three w/ - 1 Barnes - 3 Blocks Billups/Starkel - 1 Saldana - 2 Related Links • Boxscore • Season Stats

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - The No. 21 Embry-Riddle Eagles saw their season come to an end on Wednesday in the first round of the NAIA II Men's Basketball National Championship. The Eagles couldn't overcome a poor shooting outing as No. 10 Midland held on during a late ERAU rally for a 69-61 victory to advance to the second round of the 32-team event. Embry-Riddle finishes the year with a 24-8 overall record after their 14th trip to the national tournament.

The Warriors (27-5) shot 48 percent in the contest, including a 42 percent clip from three, hitting eight treys en route to the first round win. Midland built a seven point lead at the break, 38-31, and was able to go up by 15 with 5:32 left in the second half before a run by the Eagles cut the deficit to five with 39 seconds on the clock. The Warriors went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to close out the Blue and Gold, finishing the game 17-for-22 at the free throw line.

Ben Imig, the game's high scorer, hit a triple to open the contest before a fastbreak layup from Imig gave the Warriors a 5-0 lead just 40 seconds into the contest.

Rico Saldana scored the first of his 10 points with a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 5-2, and the two teams traded baskets back and forth until a Daniel Kiesling three brought the Eagles within three at 11-8.

Galen Gullie answered the Eagle trey with one of his own before Montrel Billups pulled up and hit a jumper in the paint as MU increased its lead to 16-8.

Jason Powell knocked down a three for the Blue and Gold, but again the answer was there for the Warriors as Imig notched another from long range to keep the Eagles down eight.

A quick 5-0 spurt by Reed Ridder and Dalton Barnes with a little over eight minutes left in the first brought the score to 24-19, and defense took over for both teams with neither team scoring for over four minutes.

Embry-Riddle got a three from Powell and a tip-in dunk from Saldana to get within two at 26-14 with 4:17 on the clock, and a few possessions later a layup by Saldana trimmed the lead to just one at 29-28.

Two consecutive threes from Jalen Hueser pushed the Warrior lead to six and after DeForest Carter converted a pair from the charity stripe, Midland got an and-one layup with 0.6 seconds left to take a 38-31 advantage into the break.

The first 11 mintues of the second period featured some tremendous defensive efforts by both squads as each team scored just seven points with the Warriors holding on to a 45-38 cushion with nine minutes remaining.

The Eagles failed to convert on offense over the next several minutes as the Warriors extended their lead to 15 when Gullie hit a runner in the lane with 5:32 left. Dalton Barnes took over for the Blue and Gold with the Eagles trailing, scoring 10 consecutive ERAU points to bring Embry-Riddle back to within seven at 60-53 with 2:36 left in regulation.

A Powell trey and Carter and-one gave the Eagles life, trailing just 64-59 with 39 seconds left, but the Warriors iced the game at the free throw line to advance to the round of 16 for the second straight season.

Imig led all scorers with 23, while Gullie and Marcus Franklin added 10 each. Four Warriors reached four fouls, but none fouled out.

Barnes scored 14 to pace the Eagles, while Carter and Saldana reached double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively. ERAU shot just 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from long range while the Warriors managed 48 percent and 42 percent clips respectively.

The loss marked the final game for the Eagles' lone senior, Rico Saldana. Saldana spent two seasons with the Blue and Gold, appearing in 66 games with 479 points and 340 rebounds.

Embry-Riddle's all-time national tournament record slipped to 15-13 while Midland improved to 3-2 in Point Lookout.