NORTH MIAMI, Fla. - The second-ranked Embry-Riddle men's basketball team wrapped up its best regular season in program history on Saturday afternoon, moving to 29-1 overall with a 77-69 win over Johnson & Wales. The Eagles (29-1, 17-1) shot 55 percent from the field, getting 20 points from Cesar Pastrana, 19 from Dalton Barnes and 17 from Reed Ridder to hold off the Wildcats (9-9, 12-16), outscoring the home team 8-2 over the final three minutes to earn the victory.

ERAU, already having claimed the 2014-15 Sun Conference regular season title, will host a quarterfinal contest on Thursday, Feb. 26 at  7 p.m. The Eagles will take on the winner of the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed which is slated for Tuesday evening at the home court of the No. 8 seed.

Daniel Kiesling scored the game's first point, connecting on a free throw 42 seconds into the contest, but a three from Tariq Martin on the next JWU possession gave the hosts a 3-1 lead.

The opening five minutes of the game were close, but a quick 4-0 spurt by the Eagles tied the game at 9-9 when Pastrana made a layup off a Barnes' assist.

The Eagles took a 17-15 lead when Barnes converted a jumper in the paint with 11:49 to go in the first, but the Wildcats stayed right with the Blue and Gold as Ricardo Suarez answered with a layup on the other end of the floor.

Pastrana gave the Eagles a 21-19 lead thanks to a DeForest Carter assist and after several scoreless possessions from both squads, Jason Powell hit a big three to extend the ERAU advantage to 24-19 with just over seven minutes left in the period.

Ridder hit a triple to push the Embry-Riddle lead to 27-22 with 5:14 on the clock, but Suarez went on a 5-0 run by himself to knot the game up a few minutes later.

As the first half wound down Pastrana made a layup with 1:21 let as ERAU went up 34-30, and after a three from Jumaoke Smith trimmed the lead to one point, Pastrana again got an easy layup to account for the 36-33 halftime score.

Pastrana had 16 points in the first half to lead all scorers while Barnes added nine of his own. Both Smith and Suarez had 10 points for the home team.

Coming out of the lockerroom, the Wildcats quickly tied the game thanks to three points from Luke Walters and the two teams battled back-and-forth to a 4-41 tie at the 18:14 mark.

Starting with a Barnes jumper, the Blue and Gold went on an 11-0 run that included a pair of Ridder three-pointers, as well as three free throws from the junior when he was fouled shooting a triple, giving the Eagles a 52-41 lead.

ERAU remained in front by a couple of possessions, going up nine several times in the second period, including on a Carter layup with 9:52 to go. However, the Wildcats wouldn't go away, cutting the lead to 62-59 on two Jonathan LaFontant free throws at the 8:04 mark, and later, after the Eagles had gone back up seven on a Kiesling three pointer, the lead was cut all the way down to 69-67 when Smith connected on a triple of his own at the three-minute mark.

Ridder came up with his biggest three of the day to put the Eagles up 72-67 and then collected a steal before Pastrana scored a layup to push the lead to seven with 1:26 left in the game.

Ridder and Kiesling finished the Wildcats off with free throws to account for the 77-69 final.

In addiditon to the three Eagles in double-figures, Carter added nine points, six assists for the Blue and Gold. ERAU finished 29-for-53 from the floor and 11-for-15 from the free throw line, outrebounding JWU, 31-24.