DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team had never lost its opening game of the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout, and senior Dalton Barnes and freshman Luka Majstorovic made sure that streak continued on Friday night. Barnes finished just one assist shy of a triple-double, scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in addition to his nine assists, while Majstorovic had career-highs in both points and rebounds with 14 each as the Eagles outscored St. Augustine's by eight in the second half to come away with a 67-59 victory over the Falcons. The Eagles (3-2) will square off against Francis Marion (S.C.) Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the 2016 Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout championship game, while the Falcons (2-4) will face Auburn Montgomery Saturday at 5 p.m. in the tournament's consolation contest.

The Eagles were looking to snap a two-game skid after close losses to Rollins and Eckerd last week, but had to overcome a pesky St. Augustine's squad that played even with the hosts through the first half. Neither team led by more than three points in the opening period as the Eagles and Falcons traded buckets and defensive stops through the first 20 minutes.

A Dillon Graham three-pointer at the 17:47 mark gave the Eagles a 5-2 lead, but Antonio Watson answered on the other end with a trey of his own, and the two teams went back-and-forth for the next three minutes until Anthony Gaskins made a jumper to give SAU a two-point cushion, 11-9. The Eagles looked to Graham for the response and the senior delivered, burying a triple at the 14:41 mark to retake the lead for ERAU.

Graham's third three of the first half tied the game at 17-17, and Cole Hunter went on a 5-0 run with a three and two free throws to stretch the Eagle lead to 22-19 with just under 10 to play in the first, but again the Falcons answered, and although ERAU led for the rest of the half, the Eagles couldn't seem to pull away.

Skyler Hogan made a jump shot with 1:34 to go to give ERAU a three-point cushion, but after a couple of tough defensive possessions, Ken Collins hit a last-second three in the corner to tie the game at 32-32 before the break.

Barnes started the second half with a layup off an assist by Majstorovic and the Eagles would never trailed the rest of the way. A pair of Majstorovic free throws, followed by a layup from the freshman big man pushed the ERAU lead to five, 39-34, and after a three from SAU, Barnes converted an old fashioned three-point play at the 16:50 mark to keep the advantage at five.

Hunter's three with 12 minutes to go gave the hosts their largest lead of the night at 47-39 and Barnes took over for the Eagles for the next three minutes, scoring nine straight Blue and Gold points as the Eagles went up 57-47 on his layup off a Brian Johnson assist.

The Falcons got to within seven on a Craig McDaniel free throw, making it 59-52 with 6:34 to play, but the teams combined for just six points over the next five minutes, and the Eagles iced the game thanks to a baseball in-bounds pass from Barnes to a streaking Graham that the senior flushed for a 65-54 cushion with just 70 seconds left. Graham made two free throws and the Falcons got a late three from Gaskins, but it was too little, too late as ERAU walked away with the 67-59 final.

Embry-Riddle held SAU to just 33 percent shooting from the floor, while outrebounding the Falcons, 43-34. Barnes' near triple-double would have been just the third in ERAU history, joining David Butler and DeForest Carter. Graham finished with 14 points and five rebounds as the only other Eagle to reach double-figures offensively.

The Eagles will be looking for their 11th Shootout title, and fourth straight Saturday night against Francis Marion.

Game Photos