DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A resilient Embry-Riddle men's basketball team returned to the win column on Friday night in the ICI Center, downing Florida National, 99-76 behind double-digit scoring efforts by six different Eagles. ERAU (5-5) had just eight players available, and trailed by as many as nine in the early going, but turned things around on the defensive end and took a 10-point lead into the half before blowing past the Conquistadors (11-7) in the second for the victory.
The visitors were red hot from behind the arc to start the night, connecting on five of their first six triples, taking a 15-6 lead over the Blue and Gold before
Ognjen Miljkovic made the first trey for the home team to stop the FNU run. The Eagles got to within 19-18 on a Rudy Bibb-Boud jumper with 14:11 to play in the half, and
Luka Majstorovic was able to tie things up a few moments later on an and-one opportunity, 21-21.
Florida National took a 26-24 lead with a little over eight minutes to go in the opening period, but the Eagles would rally off a dozen consecutive points, capped by a three from
Elijah Jenkins to go up 36-26 at the 5:46 mark. ERAU was able to maintain the 10-point cushion for the final five minutes of the half and headed into the lockerroom up 46-36.
Miljkovic led all players at the half with 15 points, while
Nashad Mackey registered a first-half double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Embry-Riddle opened the second half on an 11-2 run, sparked by
Joshua Hawkins, who put ERAU up 57-38 with a fastbreak layup with 17 minutes to play. FNU answered with a run of its own, getting the lead down to nine at 57-48 before a triple from Bibb-Boyd stopped the bleeding.
ERAU grew the lead to 20 on a pair of Mackey free throws to make it 70-50, before the advantage ballooned to as many as 31 at the three-minute mark on two free throws from Jenkins as the Eagles were never really threatened in the second period.
The Eagles were exceptional at the free throw line, going 23-for-24 on the night, the third-best percentage (.958) in program history.
Miljkovic finished with 22 points and six rebounds to lead the way for ERAU, while Mackey, a game after going for 23 points and 18 rebounds against Florida Southern, registered 16 points and 17 boards for his SSC-leading seventh double-double of the year. Both Bibb-Boyd and Jenkins scored 15 for Embry-Riddle, and Hawkins scored 14 points, added 10 rebounds and recorded five steals. Majstorovic, playing in limited minutes, nearly had the third double-double for ERAU with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Embry-Riddle hosts Drury (Mo.) on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. in the ICI Center.
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