DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team had a week to mull over one of its worst shooting games of the 2017-18 season last Wednesday against Florida Tech, and the Eagles responded with their best shooting performance of the year against Palm Beach Atlantic, blitzing the visiting Sailfish to the tune of a 58 percent clip from the floor en route to a 94-74 win at the ICI Center. The Eagles (9-10, 3-8 SSC) started the game hot and never cooled down, taking a 12-point lead at halftime and pulling in front by as many as 26 late in the second half as the Sailfish (10-13, 4-8) lost their fifth consecutive game.

All five of ERAU's starters scored in double-figures, and one of them, Luka Majstorovic, started the game with a jumper before Elijah Jenkins buried the first of his five threes to give the home team a 5-0 lead just a minute into the contest. The Eagles went up 10-4 on Jenkins' second triple, and the lead grew to double-digits at 16-6 when Majstorovic got a feed from Jenkins and finished with a layup at the 14:57 mark.

PBA cut the deficit to eight on a Milos Kostic layup with just under 12 minutes left in the first, but the Eagles responded with a 9-0 run, seven coming from Rudy Bibb-Boyd as the Eagles enjoyed a 29-12 advantage halfway through the opening period.

The visitors got to within nine at 32-23, but the Eagles outscored the Sailfish by three over the final five minutes to take a 41-29 lead into the halftime break. Bibb-Boyd and Joshua Hawkins led all scorers at halftime with 11 points each, while the Eagle defense held PBA to just 37 percent from the field and only 1-of-10 shooting from outside the arc.

After the teams traded baskets over the first few minutes of the second half, Hawkins was the catalyst for a big Eagle run that put the game away, flushing a dunk down at the 17:16 mark before Nashad Mackey converted a tip-in on the next ERAU possession. The Blue and Gold would add nine more points to the run, capped by a Mackey layup to make it 62-37 in favor of the hosts. Marshall Riddle hit a three to momentarily stop the bleeding for PBA, but the Eagles never allowed the Sailfish to get closer than 18 the rest of the night, cruising to the 20-point win.

All nine Eagle players that were available played on the night, with all nine scoring, led by Hawkins' game-high 22. Hawkins also added six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Bibb-Boyd and Jenkins each finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Blue and Gold, and Mackey registered his 14th double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds, now just one shy of tying Tyler DeBord (2008-09) and Chinwuba Agba (2002-03) for the most double-doubles in a single season in program history. Majstorovic ended the night with 13 points and a career-high six assists, while he and Mackey each rejected three PBA shots. 

Embry-Riddle heads to Saint Leo on Saturday, Jan. 27 for a 7:30 p.m. tip against the Lions.

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