GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 2 Embry-Riddle (14-0, 2-0) vs Ave Maria (7-7, 0-2)
DATE: Saturday, January 10, 2015
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center
TIP-OFF: 7 p.m. (ET)
LIVE STATS: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE AUDIO: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE VIDEO: ERAU Gameday Network
SERIES: ERAU leads 10-1
LAST MEETING: ERAU, 57-50 • Feb. 19, 2014

THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle returns home to host Ave Maria in the Eagles' first TSC home game of the 2014-15 season.
• The Eagles are off to their best start (14-0) in program history.
• The Eagles are the last undefeated team in NAIA II after Indiana Wesleyan lost last weekend.
• Dalton Barnes leads the Blue and Gold offensively, averaging 14.8 ppg and 53 percent shooting from the floor.
• DeForest Carter currently ranks first in the NAIA in steals per game at 3.9 and fourth in the NAIA in assists per game at 7.0.
• Cesar Pastrana ranks fourth in the country with a 66.4 field goal percentage.
• Saturday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 848th career game.

EMBRY-RIDDLE
The second-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles enter tonight's game with an unblemished 14-0 overall record to go along with their 2-0 Sun Conference mark. The Blue and Gold, off to the best start in program history, got past Warner on Wednesday, thanks to a big second half that saw the Eagles overcome a 44-40 halftime deficit to come away with an 82-71 road victory.

The Eagles lead the conference with a 51.7 percent offensive field goal clip, including a 40.8 percent average from three. Defensively, Embry-Riddle has held opponents to 61.9 points per game and just 39.4 percent from the floor, out rebounding teams by an average of 7.9 per contest.

Dalton Barnes paces the Eagles offensively with 14.8 ppg, followed by Cesar Pastrana's 14.7 ppg average and DeForest Carter at 11.7 ppg. Pastrana brings down 8.1 boards per game while Carter dishes out 7.0 assists and records 3.8 steals per outing.

AVE MARIA GYRENES
Ave Maria comes to Daytona Beach with an even overall record at 7-7, but the Gyrenes are still in search of their first Sun Conference victory after dropping to 0-2 in league play on Thursday night in a 64-44 loss to St. Thomas. Head Coach Ken Dagostino is in his second season at the helm of the AMU program and has his team positioned as one of the best defensive squads in The Sun Conference. AMU is holding opponents to just 55.9 points per game and 37.2 percent shooting from the field (including 30.8 percent from deep).

Jelani Bonner leads three players in double-figures for the Gyrenes, averaging 15.2 points to go along with his team-high 8.4 rebounds per contest. Wendell Powell brings 12.8 points and 4.7 rebounds into each game while Brandon Pasker averages 12.2 points and 6.2 boards for Ave Maria.

THE SERIES
Embry-Riddle has won three straight in the series, and are 10-1 all-time against Ave Maria. Last season, the Eagles swept the Gyrenes in the regular season series.

BY THE NUMBERS
1,466 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 14 on the all-time scoring list
1,063 - Points scored by Cesar Pastrana in his career, No. 23 on the all-time scoring list
708 - Career rebounds pulled down by Cesar Pastrana
672 - Career assists dished out by Carter, most all-time
619 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 26th season with ERAU men's basketball
601 - Career rebounds grabbed by Carter
627 - Career Points scored by Dalton Barnes, just his second season as an Eagle
285 - Career steals recorded by Carter, most all-time
226 - 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 619 wins in 26 seasons as the Eagles' head coach.