DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team got a signature program win on Wednesday evening, knocking off NCAA II No. 5 Eckerd in the ICI Center, 68-65, ending the nation's longest winning streak as the Tritons entered the contest winners of 16 consecutive games. The Eagles (11-5) took the first-ever matchup between the two programs by grinding out a defensive battle, holding the Tritons (16-2) to their lowest point total of the 2015-16 season.
Neither team shot the ball well, thanks to tremendous defense on both sides, but it was actually the visitors who shot better at 43 percent, but ERAU made seven more three-pointers and never allowed EC to tie or take the lead in the second half, growing its lead to as many as 12 in the last period.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys tonight," Head Coach
Steve Ridder said. "Our program is all about getting defensive stops, outrebounding opponents and showing some guts to find a way to win."
Joseph Gonzalez came off the bench for 15 huge points, followed by an all-around effort from
Dalton Barnes as the junior scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds, assisted on five baskets, recorded two steals and blocked a shot. The Eagles won the rebounding battle, 44-42 as
Skyler Hogan registered a game-high nine boards, while three more Eagles grabbed seven rebounds each.
"On a night when our offense wasn't as good, due to the effort of Eckerd, you have to give them credit for their defensive intensity," Ridder said. "But our ability to get stops, our ability to rebound made me so proud, I can't say enough about the effort our guys put forth."
The game started off slow as the two teams felt each other out, and it wasn't until two minutes in that Barnes made a layup to put the Eagles up 2-0. Eckerd led 6-4 before a Barnes trey at the 13:24 mark, and the two teams traded buckets and defensive stops for most of the first half.
Reed Ridder's three tied things up at 12-12 with just under 10 minutes left in the half, but a pair of free throws from Ray Darnell gave the Tritons back the lead before Gonzalez buried a three at the 9:10 mark to ignite the ICI Center faithful.
Tied at 20-20 with 5:05 on the clock, the hosts turned in a 14-7 run to take a 34-27 lead into the half. Trevon Young led the Tritons with eight points, while Gonzalez poured in 11 on 4-for-5 shooting from the field.
Young started the second half with a jumper in the paint, but
Daniel Kiesling answered with a three-pointer on the other end as ERAU grew its lead to 12 on an
Ognjen Miljkovic layup with 16 minutes to play.
Eckerd went on a quick 7-0 run, and trimmed the deficit to 47-44 on a Young layup at the 13:38 mark, but a Miljkovic jumper kept the Eagles in front, before another run, this time a 4-0 variety, made it 49-48 ERAU with 11:03 to go.
Barnes made a clutch layup before Darnell converted on a 12-footer for EC as neither team could get on a roll.
Hogan's fastbreak jumper with eight minutes to go made it 57-52, and then the freshman finished off a fantastic three-point play after an offensive rebound on the next ERAU possession, making it 60-54.
Eckerd took an eight-point ERAU lead down to two when Young made a layup with 4:37 left, but Barnes made a jumper on the baseline to stem the tide for the Blue and Gold.
Leading 64-62 under a minute, the Eagles got a jumper from Ridder before Drushaun McLaurn made a fastbreak shot in the paint, and a foul by the Eagles allowed him to cut the lead to three at 68-65.
A missed shot from ERAU led to the Eagles electing to foul under seven seconds, and Jerrick Stevenson missed the front-end of a one-and-one before Ridder, who grabbed the rebound and was fouled, returned the favor on the other end.
Another foul by Embry-Riddle put Young on the charity stripe and his shot attempt was off as Barnes was fouled on the ensuing rebound. But again, the Eagles couldn't ice the game at the free throw line before Young's desperation heave at the buzzer fell well short.
"This was one of the best wins in our program history," Ridder said. "Coming off three straight losses, facing the fifth-ranked team in the nation, we didn't play our best game offensively, and yet our guys found a way to win."
The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Eagles as they look to continue their momentum with a home game against Florida Tech on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.
