DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite shooting below 40 percent for just the second time all year, the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team pulled away late for a 74-63 victory over Johnson & Wales on Wednesday night at the ICI Center. With the win, the Blue and Gold move to 6-1 on the season, while the Wildcats drop to 6-5.
 
Dalton Barnes led the way with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Daniel Kiesling and Joseph Gonzalez each added 13 points and six boards.
 
The Wildcats scored the first five points of the game but it didn't take ERAU long to recover as the Eagles scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 10-7 lead with 14:11 left in the first half. The lead changed hands four more times in the next five minutes before Embry-Riddle went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead, 22-16. A Gonzalez jumper with 1:11 left gave the Eagles an eight-point cushion (30-22) and the home side would go into the locker room leading by a score of 32-26.
 
Reed Ridder knocked down a three just over a minute into the second half to push the Eagle lead to 37-28, but JWU rattled off 10 straight points over the next two minutes to regain the lead, 38-37. Five more lead changes occurred over the following three minutes with ERAU retaking the lead on a pair of Gonzalez free throws with 14:08 on the clock. The Wildcats briefly regained the lead with 9:22 to play but Skyler Hogan scored five points in 39 seconds to put the Eagles ahead for good, 55-52 with 8:24 to play. Dillon Graham knocked down six straight free throws to push the advantage to as many as 15 points (69-54) and the Eagles cruised to a 74-63 victory from there.
 
The Eagles return to the court on Saturday when they host Thomas at 7 p.m. in the second game of the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout. Virginia State will take on Texas A&M-Kingsville at 5 p.m. on Saturday to open the tournament. The winners of Saturday's games will face off in the championship on Sunday at 4 p.m. while the consolation game will take place on Sunday at 2 p.m.