GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 2 Embry-Riddle (24-1, 12-1) vs. Southeastern (13-10, 7-7)
DATE: Thursday, February 12, 2015
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center
TIP-OFF: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
LIVE STATS: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE AUDIO: ERAU Gameday Network
LIVE VIDEO: ERAU Gameday Network
SERIES: ERAU leads, 11-6
LAST MEETING: ERAU, 74-72 • Jan. 24, 2015

THE OPENING TIP
• Embry-Riddle hosts Southeastern for the final regular season meeting between the two schools in conference play.
• The Eagles are coming off a road victory at Northwood on Tuesday, 72-65.
• ERAU is 11-6 all-time against SEU, including a 6-2 mark inside the ICI Center.
• The Eagles rank seventh in the country in field goal percentage at .500.
• DeForest Carter currently ranks first in the NAIA in steals per game at 3.64 and sixth in the NAIA in assists per game at 6.56.
• Thursday's contest marks ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder's 860th career game.

EMBRY-RIDDLE
The second-ranked Eagles inched a little closer to their ninth regular season conference championship on Tuesday, downing rival Northwood on the road, 72-65, completing a season sweep of the Seahawks. ERAU is now 24-1 overall and 12-1 in The Sun Conference, holding a four-game lead over second-place teams St. Thomas (14-9, 9-5) and Johnson & Wales (12-12, 9-5) with five games remaining.

The Blue and Gold has gotten a big offensive boost from Joseph Gonzalez over the last six games as the junior has averaged 15.2 points per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor. Gonzalez (10.5 ppg) has joined three other Eagles in averaging double-figures for the season, led by Dalton Barnes (14.0 ppg), the group also includes Cesar Pastrana (13.3 ppg) the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week, and DeForest Carter (12.8 ppg).

The Eagles are shooting 50 percent as a team while grabbing 37 rebounds and dishing out nearly 20 assists per game while holding opponents to just 42 percent from the field and forcing 16 turnovers per contest.

SOUTHEASTERN
The Fire enter tonight's contest at 13-10 overall and 7-7 in the league standings, tied with two other teams for fifth place. SEU has dropped five of its last six contests, starting with a 74-72 loss to Embry-Riddle in Lakeland back on Jan. 24. On Tuesday, Southeastern fell to Thomas on the road, 79-76, despite 19 points from Andre' Winston and a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds from Dana Thomas.

Winston leads the team and the conference in scoring with a 22.0 points per game average, shooting 49 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line. Timothy Mitchell brings 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game to the Fire effort. As a team, SEU averaged 79.3 ppg and 47 percent from the field.

THE SERIES
ERAU holds a 11-6 mark against the Fire and a 6-2 record at home against Southeastern. Both of SEU's victories at the ICI Center have come in the last three meetings, though Embry-Riddle won the most recent game in Daytona Beach on Jan. 15, 2014 by a score of 77-69.

BY THE NUMBERS
1,622 - Points scored by DeForest Carter, No. 8 on the all-time scoring list
1,190 - Points scored by Cesar Pastrana in his career, No. 19 on the all-time scoring list
802 - Career rebounds pulled down by Cesar Pastrana, ranked No. 4 in ERAU career history
770 - Career Points scored by Dalton Barnes, in just his second season as an Eagle
738 - Career assists dished out by Carter, most all-time
658 - Career rebounds grabbed by Carter, 9th all-time
629 - Wins by Head Coach Steve Ridder now in his 26th season with ERAU men's basketball
.612 - Career Field Goal Percentage by Cesar Pastrana, ranking third all-time
322 - Career steals recorded by Carter, most all-time
237 - 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 now has 629 wins in 26 seasons as the Eagles' head coach.