MELBOURNE, Fla. - Facing an undefeated team on the road, the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team used a blistering first half offensive surge and a resilient effort in the second half to down Florida Tech, 94-77 at the Clemente Center on Saturday. ERAU (2-0) shot 66 percent from the field in the first half, taking a 16-point cushion into the break before withstanding a three-point onslaught from FIT (2-1) in the second period, pulling away late for the first road victory of the year.

"I thought our rebounding and our defensive toughness was outstanding tonight," Head Coach Steve Ridder said. "We weathered the storm in the second half when they made their run, and we're going to enjoy this win."

Dalton Barnes, who became the 29th player in program history to score 1,000 points in an Eagle uniform later in the half, scored the first points of the game with a layup, and Ognjen Miljkovic doubled ERAU's lead with a layup of his own with 18 minutes on the clock.

Isaac Spence scored the first Panther points with a pair of free throws more than four minutes into the contest, but a Daniel Kiesling three at the 15:14 mark pushed the Eagle lead to 10-2.

Barnes surpassed the 1,000-point plateau at the 11:35 mark when Miljkovic found him for a layup that gave ERAU a 17-10 lead. Barnes needed just 71 games to earn his 1,000th point, and becomes the third Eagle in as many years to reach the mark, joining DeForest Carter (2013) and Cesar Pastrana (2014).

Reed Ridder nailed the first of his four threes with 13 and a half minutes to go in the half, and the Eagles continued to stretch their advantage the rest of the half, taking a 23-10 lead on a Dillon Graham three with just under 10 minutes to go.

Skyler Hogan's free throws at the 8:48 mark ballooned the ERAU lead to 15 before both teams played even for four minutes until a Graham layup from a Ridder assist put the visitors in front 39-22.

Embry-Riddle's biggest lead came on a Graham fastbreak layup with seven seconds to go, but FIT hit a buzzer-beater to trim the lead to 51-35 before the break.

Barnes led all scorers at the half with 12 while Miljkovic added 10 points in the period and Graham had nine.

"We had 51 points in the first half against a great defensive team," Ridder said. "We had the tempo going our way, we knocked down some threes and had good inside play, and that was a huge statement half."

The second half started much like the first as Miljkovic made good on a layup from a Barnes pass and Ridder drilled a three on a fastbreak that made it 56-35.

Ridder picked Jermohn Queen's pocket and raced into the frontcourt to make a layup and get fouled before making the free throw as ERAU's lead grew to its' biggest margin to that point at 59-35.

Ridder hit two free throws at the 14:03 mark to give Embry-Riddle a 67-43 lead, but the Eagles would be stuck on 67 for more than four minutes as FIT went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 15 on a Patrick Anderson jumper with 9:26 to go.

Ridder came off the bench to hit a big trey and stop the Panther momentum, but Florida Tech refused to go away, chipping away at the Eagle lead until they cut it to eight at 73-65 on an Anderson three.

The next two Eagle offensive possessions were critical as Ridder found a cutting Graham for an open layup to stop the bleeding, and Barnes racked up an assist with a pass to Graham on another easy layup.

Daniel Kiesling went on a 4-0 run thanks to four free throws, and after a layup from FIT, Joseph Gonzalez hit a big three that took the air out of the Panthers' comeback hopes as Embry-Riddle went in font by 15 with 4:41 left.

Gonzalez provided some more highlights in the form of a fastbreak dunk, and a few possessions later, collected a tip-dunk off a Ridder miss that made it 92-73 in favor of the Eagles as ERAU cruised to the 17-point win.

Ridder finished with 19 points to pace six Eagles in double-figures, burying four threes and recording five assists. Graham was an efficient 7-for-8 from the field for 16 points while Gonzalez scored 13 second-half points for 16 total. Miljkovic had 15 points and eigh boards while both Barnes and Kiesling finished with 12 points for Embry-Riddle.

For the game, the Eagles shot 55 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc and an impressive 81 percent from the charity stripe. ERAU outrebounded FIT 41-28, and collected 19 assists as a team.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team coming on the road, being mentally prepared, and thats in large part due to Coach Chad Keller and Coach Daniel Mondragon's scouting reports," Ridder said. "We were very balanced offensively tonight, and did a great job of making the extra pass and sharing the basketball."

With the win, the Eagles have won three straight in the all-time series and evened the series at 3-3.

Embry-Riddle returns to the ICI Center to host former conference mate Ave Maria on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.