MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Daniel Kiesling's tip-in at the buzzer sent Wednesday's game between second-ranked Embry-Riddle and St. Thomas into overtime at the Fernandez Family Center, and the Eagles (16-0, 4-0) used the extra period to exorcise some demons, outscoring the Bobcats (7-7, 2-3) 11-7 to beat the hosts for the first time since the 2012-13 season, 63-59. The Eagles remained unbeaten overall and in league play, despite trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, getting 27 points from Dalton Barnes, including 16 in the second period, while holding STU to just 37 percent from the field en route to the road victory.
 
ERAU returns home to square off with The Sun Conference's second-place team, Webber International (7-10, 4-1) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 in the ICI Center.
 
Trailing by 12 with 1:16 left in the first, the Eagles finished the half on a 5-0 run to cut the STU lead to 30-23 at the break. DeForest Carter and Jason Powell each recorded steals in the final 35 seconds and Barnes and Powell were the beneficiary of Carter assists, including Powell's three with 20 seconds left to put some momentum on ERAU's side.
 
The second half started much like the first ended as Barnes and Cesar Pastrana each registered a layup to bring the Eagles within three at 30-27, but the hosts answered with six straight to go back up nine on a Michael Walker layup with just under 17 minutes left in regulation.
 
Barnes took over for the Eagles for the next few minutes, scoring nine straight ERAU points to bring the Eagles within two at 41-39, and after a Carter block and rebound, the Eagle senior found Joseph Gonzalez for a fastbreak layup to knot things up at 41-41 at the 11:14 mark.
 
Both teams battled back-and-forth for the next couple possessions but the Eagles took their first lead of the game on a fastbreak lay in from Pastrana, giving the Blue and Gold a 47-45 lead with seven minutes left.
 
As the home team regained the lead, 52-50, on a pair of David Santiago free throws at the 1:38 mark, the Eagles missed several opportunities to tie the game up. The Eagle defense held firm however, and after a STU turnover with nine seconds on the clock, the Eagles needed to go the length of the floor to try to send the game to overtime. Carter dribbled up the court and found an open Pastrana in the corner, but his three was off the mark, falling right to a crashing Kiesling who caught the ball and put it into the bucket in one motion as time expired to keep the Eagles' undefeated dreams alive.
 
On the first possession of overtime Carter got his first points of the night, driving in for a layup and a two-point advantage. However, St. Thomas went on a 7-0 run to go up 59-54 when Lorel Beckford connected on a pair from the charity stripe at the 1:33 mark in OT.
 
Carter calmly walked the ball up the court on the next ERAU offensive possession and drilled a three to bring the Eagles within two, and after a steal from Carter, Pastrana made a layup to tie the game at 59-59.
 
Carter again came away with a steal on the ensuing possession, going the length of the floor on a give-and-go with Barnes as the Eagles went ahead for good at 61-59.
 
STU went 0-for-2 at the free throw line after a Barnes foul, but the Bobcats got the rebound before Beckford missed a jumper in the lane. Carter grabbed the board and was fouled, but he couldn't earn the bonus free throw after missing the first, giving STU the ball back with five seconds left. Beckford tried dribbling up the floor, but the Eagle pressure was too much as he turned the ball over and Kiesling sealed the game with two made free throws with less than a second left.
 
ERAU went 26-for-57 (45.6%) from the field, grabbing 41 rebounds and collecting 20 assists with four blocks and seven steals. Barnes finished with 27 points and five assists while Pastrana had 12 points and eight rebounds. Kiesling scored 10 points, grabbed seven boards and had a block while Carter had seven points, nine assists, nine rebounds, three blocks and four steals.
 
The win gave Head Coach Steve Ridder his 621^st win in his 850^th career game as the Eagles' coach.