ST. LEO, Fla. - A tough road environment and a tough finish marred the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team's first road game of the 2016-17 season as the Eagles fell at Saint Leo, 89-82 on Wednesday. The Eagles (4-3) led by as many as 13 in the first half, but the Lions (3-4) ended the game on a 20-7 run to sneak past ERAU at the Bowman Activities Center.

Embry-Riddle put four players in double-figures offensively, led by sophomore Skyler Hogan's 22 points, but the Lions also had four in double-figures, paced by Tyreece Brice's 24 points.

The Eagles enjoyed a great shooting first half, going for 56 percent from the field and nearly 70 percent from three, connecting on 6-of-9 from long range.

The visitors responded to an early 4-0 hole with a 7-2 run, as Hogan scored four points and Dillon Graham added a triple to give ERAU a 7-6 lead at the 16:46 mark. The Eagles used a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 21-12 advantage on a Luka Majstorovic free throw, but the Lions came back to cut the lead to 25-22 when Necdet Gurkan made a layup with just under nine minutes to play in the half. A big trey from Cole Hunter stopped the SLU momentum and sparked an Eagle run as the Blue and Gold got out to a 38-28 lead on a Hogan jumper, and Embry-Riddle stayed out in front by a couple of possessions the rest of the period, going into the break, up 50-42.

Hogan led the way with 15 first half points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while Graham added 10 points and five rebounds. Barnes dished out seven assists in the opening frame for the visitors who turned the ball over just one time in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Eagles were able to keep a small distance between themselves and the Lions for the first several minutes of the second half, going up seven, 61-54 on a Graham three, but Saint Leo hit back-to-back threes to make it a one-point game with 13 minutes to go. A layup and-one from Shaquan McArthur halted the bleeding, and a Hunter three put ERAU back up by five, 67-62. But once again the Lions responded, going on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 69-69 when Brice made a jumper with less than 10 minutes left.
 
Majstorovic put the Eagles back in front with a layup, and followed with a jumper in the lane before McArthur's layup capped a 6-0 ERAU run, making it 75-69 with 7:20 on the clock.
 
Over the next two minutes Saint Leo was able to tie things up again at 79-79 when Brice went 1-for-2 at the free throw line with five minutes left and at the under-four minute media timeout, the teams were still knotted until the Lions took their first lead of the half on two free throws from Gurkan at the 3:47 mark.
 
SLU went up 83-80 on a layup from Lawrence Watt with three minutes left, but Barnes hit a turnaround jumper to make it a one-point game with 90 seconds to play. After Saint Leo missed a layup on the ensuing possession the Eagles had an open three from Hogan that missed, but an offensive rebound gave the Eagles another shot, this time a trey from Barnes that was off the mark. The Lions grabbed the rebound and on the other end Brice hit a jumper in the paint to increase the SLU lead to 85-82.
 
Barnes was fouled on a drive to the hoop, but he came up empty at the free throw line, the second attempt getting rebounded by the visitors and eventually finding Graham who missed a contested three that would have tied it, and Justin Satchell sealed the game with a pair of free throws after securing the rebound off Graham's miss. Marcus Dewberry accounted for the final with a last-second layup after the Eagles' desperation in-bounds heave was intercepted by SLU.
 
Hogan finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead ERAU, while Majstorovic scored 15 points, and Graham went for 16 points and Hunter added 10, while Barnes' nine assists were a game-high.

The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Tampa to take on the Spartans for a 4 p.m. tilt.