DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The seventh-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team advanced to the title game of the 2015 Bahama House & Best Western Aku Tiki Shootout with a 66-58 victory over Grace (Neb.) on Friday evening in the ICI Center. The Eagles improved to 12-0 on the season for just the third time in program history (matching the 2000-01 team (12-0) and 2007-07 squad (13-0)), using another second half surge to skip past the Royals (7-8) to setup a title game against Ashford (Iowa) on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

For the second consecutive game, the Eagles held a slim lead at the break, but managed a huge run to begin the second period en route to a win, having to hold off a scrappy Grace team that trailed by as many as 21 before battling back into the contest.

Leading 31-28 at half, the Eagles came out of the locker room with a sense of urgency, going on a 20-2 run to propel themselves to a 51-30 advantage in less than five minutes of second half game time. Embry-Riddle forced the Royals into four turnovers and held them to just 1-for-7 from the floor in the beginning quarter of the second period, hitting several outside shots and getting easy scores off of miscues to balloon the lead.

But the Royals didn't go away, trailing 65-47 after a Joseph Gonzalez fastbreak dunk at the 3:18 mark, the visitors scored 11 consecutive points to trim the lead to seven on a Hakeem Stewart triple with 22 seconds left, but it came just a little too late as the Eagles held on for the 66-58 final after a Bradley Mapes free throw with seven seconds on the clock.

The Eagles were plagued by turnovers in the game, giving the ball away 20 times (10 each half) that resulted in 19 points for Grace. The Royals also managed to outrebound the Blue and Gold, 37-31, including 18 offensive rebounds, the most allowed by ERAU this season. Those 18 second chances produced 21 points, mostly from Ayotunde Akinbote who grabbed six offensive boards and scored 11 points for the Royals.

Dalton Barnes paced the Eagles for the second straight game, shooting 6-for-7 from the field and adding a pair of free throws for 15 points to go along with a game-high seven assists and five rebounds. Gonzalez chipped in 14 off the bench while Reed Ridder contributed 10 points, two assists and two steals. DeForest Carter finished with nine points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals, needing just three assists and two steals to break the career records in those categories.

ERAU shot 53 percent from the floor and held the Royals to just 36 percent in the win.

Ashford was an 84-72 winner in the first game on Friday, downing Tennessee Wesleyan. The Bulldogs will play Grace at 5 p.m. tomorrow evening in the tournament's consolation game.