HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team capped off a special preseason trip on Sunday afternoon with an exhibition game against the NCAA I No. 12 Cincinnati Bearcats at Northern Kentucky's BB&T Arena. The Bearcats, the consensus pick to claim the American Conference title, used a stifling defensive effort to win, 101-68. It was both team's final tune-up before the regular season begins on Friday.
 
"This has been an amazing trip that has really got our guys excited about our potential as a team for this season," Head Coach Steve Ridder said. Ridder was returning to his home state of Kentucky after standout careers at Bellevue High School and Berea College before taking over the Eagle program in 1989.
 
"We learned a lot about our team today, that's one of the reasons we played this game." Ridder said. "We're fortunate to have a few days to work on those things before the official start of our season."
 
The Eagles controlled the tip, but after a missed three by Ognjen Miljkovic, the Bearcats raced out to a 6-0 lead before Nashad Mackey was able to get the Eagles on the board with a layup. Unfortunately for the visitors, it was the only points they would score until the 13-minute mark when Mackey again put in a layup, but UC had already taken control of the game, 20-4.
 
The Bearcats owned the first half, leading 56-23 at the break, thanks to 27 points off of 17 ERAU turnovers. Mackey and Joshua Hawkins were the leading Eagle scorers with six points each.
 
The second half was a different story with the Eagles staying with the Bearcats' pace, ultimately tying them 45-45 in the half, but the 33-point different from the first half was the difference in the final score.
 
Rudy Bibb-Boyd had a coming out party in the second half, scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points in the closing period. The sophomore from Gainesville connected on 7-of-15 shots in the game, including three triples, but as a team, the Eagles struggled from deep, making just 7-of-22 in the contest.
 
Mackey nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine boards, while Shaquan McArthur finished with 13 points and Hawkins came off the bench for 10 points.
 
ERAU turned the ball over 27 times and was outscored 54-30 in the paint by the larger Bearcats.
 
"I think our guys got a tremendous feeling about the quality of this program that they're a part of, being together for a few days with their coaches and teammates and also a number of friends of our program, including several former ERAU student-athletes, to understand the depth of our basketball family. I thought the turnout today of fans, friends and family members was a lot of fun. This demonstrates to our players just how much interest there is in our program across the country. People stand up for them, they care about them, they root for them. All in all, this was a special trip that we're all going to remember and I'm grateful of everyone's time, effort and financial support to make this happen."
 
The Eagles return to Daytona Beach to host the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout this coming weekend. ERAU takes on Mississippi College on Friday, Nov. 10 in the ICI Center before hosting Paine College on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m.