MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - The second-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team used a balanced attack to earn a 76-59 win against Florida Memorial on Saturday night. Five Eagles scored in double-figures and the team shot 57.4% from the field, including over 65% in the second half.
Joseph Gonzalez led the Eagles (21-1, 9-1) with 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while Reed Ridder poured in 14 including a game-high four three-pointers. Daniel Kiesling and Cesar Pastrana each tallied 12 points, and Pastrana also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. DeForest Carter chipped in 10 points and racked up a game-high seven assists and four steals while Dalton Barnes scored seven points and added six assists.
Samuel Dorismond scored a game-high 17 points for the Lions (1-18, 0-10) and Davonte Byrd added 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. Timothy Coleman tallied 12 points and Devante Wiltshire and La Dante Berry-White each handed out five assists.
Pastrana got the Blue and Gold on the first with a fastbreak layup less than two minutes into the game. After a triple from Ridder and a layup from Kiesling, the Eagles had already stretched the lead to 7-0 at the 17-minute mark.
The Lions finally got on the board just over four minutes into the game, but ERAU came right back with a pair of layups to make it an 11-2 game with 15:11 left in the first half.
A three from Gonzalez with 10:26 to play before halftime increased Embry-Riddle's lead to double-digits for the first time (18-8). FMU trimmed the deficit to just four with 6:18 to play, but just two minutes later another trey from Ridder had regained the double-digit lead (29-18).
Barnes knocked down a jumper with 1:52 left in the period, pushing the Eagle lead to 33-20, its largest of the half. Florida Memorial scored the final seven points before halftime to cut the ERAU lead to just six (33-27) at the break.
In the opening stages of the second half, the Lions maintained the momentum that they had seized at the end of the first half and closed to within two points (33-31) within the first minute of the period. Kiesling answered back with a three to provide a little breathing room, and at the 16:38 mark, Ridder hit his fourth three of the game, building the Eagle lead to 47-37.
Barnes converted an and-one with 9:41 to play that increased ERAU's advantage to 61-47, and the Blue and Gold were in full control for the rest of the contest. Carter scored a layup with 2:49 left that made it a 71-49 game, and Brian Johnson's three with 87 seconds to play pushed the lead to 23 (76-53), the largest of the game. The Lions scored the game's fins six points to account for the 76-59 final score.
The Eagles close out their two-game road swing on Wednesday when they travel to Ave Maria. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
