BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team wrapped up its first season of provisional membership in the Sunshine State Conference with an 83-74 road win over Lynn (12-14) on Saturday.
 
Dalton Barnes led all players with 28 points to move into a tie for 16th on the Eagles' career scoring charts with 1,404 points, and hauled in 10 rebounds for his only double-double of the year. Ognjen Miljkovic also finished with a double-double (his fifth of the season), tallying 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Dillon Graham turned in the Eagles' only other double-digit scoring performance with 11 points.
 
Reed Ridder achieved a career milestone with his eight points on Saturday. Ridder who scored 67 points in one season at Lynn and 936 in three seasons at ERAU, capped his collegiate career as a member of the 1,000-point club, finishing with 1,003 points.
 
ERAU opened the contest with a Barnes jumper to tie the Knights at 2-2, but then the Eagle offense went cold, managing just two free throws over the next four minutes. Lynn was able to take advantage of the Eagles' slow start and the Fighting Knights' 10-0 run resulted in a 14-4 lead and prompted ERAU Head Coach Steve Ridder to call a timeout.
 
Ridder's timeout had the desired effect as his squad exited the huddle and went on a 10-0 run of its own to tie the score at 14-14 at the 13:48 mark.
 
The remainder of the period was evenly contested with each team going 15-for-40 from the field and neither side pulling ahead by more than three points. Neither team shot the ball well from long range, combining for just three made three-pointers in the first half, and at the end of the first 20 minutes of play, Lynn held a slim 42-41 edge.
 
Things turned around for the Eagles in the second half, particularly in their long-range shooting as they connected on seven threes compared to just two in the first frame.
 
After Fred Landers hit a pair of free throws to put Lynn up 49-47, Miljkovic knocked down his first trey of the evening to put ERAU back in front by one (50-49) and that basket keyed a 14-4 run that gave the Eagles an 11-point advantage and their largest lead of the game. However, the Fighting Knights managed to whittle away at the lead and with 6:11 left to play, the Eagle margin was only two points (66-64).
 
The long-range shot served the Eagles well on their next two possessions as threes by Miljkovic and Joseph Gonzalez helped the Blue and Gold build its lead back up to eight points (72-64).
 
The Fighting Knights managed to work their way back within two points (72-70) with 2:39 remaining, but once again it was the three-ball, this time from Graham, that ended the rally and built the lead to 75-70 with 2:04 left.
 
The remainder of the contest saw the Eagles get the job done at the charity stripe as they knocked down all eight of their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Saturday's game was the last of the 2015-16 campaign for the Eagles who will not be eligible for postseason play until 2017-18 season as dictated by the NCAA II membership process. ERAU enjoyed some success throughout the season, including besting defending national champion Florida Southern twice and knocking off fifth-ranked Eckerd on the way to a 16-10 overall record.