GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 2 Embry-Riddle (17-1, 5-1) vs Johnson & Wales (13-4, 5-2)
DATE: Thursday, January 22, 2015
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center
TIP-OFF: 7:30 p.m. (ET)
LIVE STATS: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE AUDIO: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE VIDEO: ERAU Gameday Network
SERIES: ERAU leads, 21-2
LAST MEETING: ERAU, 62-43 • Feb. 6, 2014

THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle returns to Daytona Beach for the second of three games this week
• The Eagles suffered their first loss of 2014-15 on Tuesday, dropping a 77-70 decision to Thomas on the road.
• Dalton Barnes leads the Blue and Gold offensively, averaging 15.6 ppg overall and 17.8 ppg in TSC action.
• DeForest Carter currently ranks first in the NAIA in steals per game at 4.0 and third in the NAIA in assists per game at 6.9.
• Cesar Pastrana ranks fourth in the country with a 64.0 field goal percentage.
• Thursday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 853rd career game.

EMBRY-RIDDLE
Embry-Riddle will be looking for a quick turnaround after suffering its first loss of the 2014-15 season on the road against Thomas on Tuesday. The Eagles struggled offensively down the stretch against the Night Hawks, recording just two field goals over the final 12 minutes of game time in the 77-70 loss. The Eagles (17-1, 5-1) got 22 points from DeForest Carter and 14 from Dalton Barnes, but couldn't overcome their worst shooting performance of the year (37.7%) and 10 missed free throws down the stretch.

Barnes leads the Eagles with his 15.6 points per game, followed by Cesar Pastrana (13.1) and Carter (11.9), while both Reed Ridder and Joseph Gonzalez are close behind at 9.2 points per game each. Pastrana's 7.8 rebounds per contest pace the squad while Carter leads the country with 4.1 steals per outing and is third with 6.9 assists per game.

JOHNSON & WALES
Johnson & Wales (13-4, 5-2) come into tonight's game tied for second place in The Sun Conference standings with upset wins over Southeastern, Thomas and Warner on their resume. JWU has a quartet of players averaging in double-figures, led by Ricardo Suarez's 16.4 points per game. Suarez also pulls down a team-high 7.6 points per contest and shoots 57 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three. Jumaoke Smith and Frank Bennet average 12.6 and 12.2 points per game, respectively, while the Wildcats as a team average a Sun Conference best 36.8 rebounds per game.

THE SERIES
ERAU is 21-2 all-time against JWU, however, both losses did come in the ICI Center. Embry-Riddle has won four straight against thw Wildcats.

BY THE NUMBERS
1,516 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 11 on the all-time scoring list
1,093 - Points scored by Cesar Pastrana in his career, No. 23 on the all-time scoring list
736 - Career rebounds pulled down by Cesar Pastrana, ranked No. 6 in ERAU career history
699 - Career assists dished out by Carter, most all-time
700 - Career Points scored by Dalton Barnes, in just his second season as an Eagle
622 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 26th season with ERAU men's basketball
.613 - Career Field Goal Percentage by Cesar Pastrana, ranking third all-time
625 - Career rebounds grabbed by Carter
302 - Career steals recorded by Carter, most all-time
229 - Conference wins in program history
90.9% - Production returning from 2013-14 to this year's squad
26 - Seasons under the guidance of Head Coach Steve Ridder
14 - NAIA National Tournament appearances
10 - Sun Conference Tournament titles
8 - Regular season conference championships
2 - The Eagles' current national ranking
1 - NAIA National Championship (2000)

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Heading into his 26th 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 622 wins in 26 seasons as the Eagles' head coach.