ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - After nearly a decade, the Embry-Riddle and Flagler men's basketball rivalry was reintroduced in thrilling fashion with the host Saints surviving a depleted Eagles' squad comeback attempt in overtime, 88-85 on Friday night. The Eagles (4-2) saw flashbacks of Quentin Freeman's halfcourt heave in 2003 when Tylin Lockett-Fuller hit a desperation three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, but the Saints (3-1) outscored the visitors in the extra period, 15-12 to snap ERAU's seven-game winning streak in the series.

The Blue and Gold, playing without the services of several Eagles, including Nashad Mackey, struggled in the first half on the offensive end, shooting just 33 percent from the floor and going just 3-for-10 beyond the arc. Surprisingly, the Eagles also struggled at the free throw line in the first, managing just a 5-for-13 effort as Flagler took a 36-26 lead into the break. Damerit Brown came off the bench to score 20 of Flagler's first-half points thanks to six three-pointers.

Switching ends of the floor looked to help the Eagles to start the second half as they were able to trim the deficit to six when Alston Jones made a driving layup with 15:45 left to make it 42-36. But a big three from the Saints pushed their lead back to nine before Luka Majstorovic took over.

The junior from Serbia scored five of the next seven Eagle points, the last three on a great and-one play off a feed from Jones, cutting the lead to 45-43 with 12:10 to play in regulation.

Embry-Riddle stayed within a possession over the next several minutes, and the big Serbian was able to tie things up at 49-49 with a layup with just under 10 minutes left.

Flagler went on a mini 7-2 run to go back up five on a Brown triple, but a layup from Majstorovic and then three free throws from Elijah Jenkins after he was fouled on a trey attempt knotted the game at 56-56.

After both teams traded free throws, Cole Hunter nailed a huge three right in front of the Eagle bench to give the Eagles their first lead of the night at 61-58, but after more traded free throws, it was Brown once again to tie things up with his own three.

Jones regained a two-point lead (65-63) with 4:37 left, but the home team responded with six straight to go back up by four. Jones once again came through with a big shot, this time a triple that cut the deficit to one, 69-68 at the 1:45 mark.

A layup from FC and two free throws from Jones kept it a one-point game until Vaughn McCall made a pair from the charity stripe with 26 seconds left to push the Flagler lead to three, 73-70.

After the Eagles came up empty on their next possession, Flagler called timeout with four seconds left with the basketball. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Lockett-Fuller stole the ball in the backcourt and nailed a fading three at the buzzer to send the Eagle crowd into a frenzy and the game into overtime.

The Eagles drew first blood in the OT period when Chris Murray made a layup from a Lockett-Fuller assist, but ERAU could not go up by more than two points over the first two-plus minutes as Flagler had an answer for every Embry-Riddle bucket.

FC took an 82-79 lead on an and-one with 90 seconds left, but Majstorovic hit a hook shot to keep the Eagles within one at the 1:10 mark. A crucial offensive rebound and tip-in put the Saints back up three before Hunter made two free throws with 25 seconds to go.

Forced to foul, the Eagles saw Gloire Biongo make four straight free throws while coming up empty on their offensive end to go down five, 88-83. Cj Henagan made a jumper with a little over two seconds left to get the Eagles within a possession, and the Eagles were again able to get a steal on the in-bounds and a clock error allowed ERAU to in-bounds it with one second left. The in-bounds went to Hunter 10 feet behind the three-point line and his attempt at the buzzer fell short as the Eagles suffered their first overtime loss since 2013, snapping a five-game OT winning streak.

The Eagles, after shooting 39 percent from the free throw line in the first half, finished the game making 20 consecutive free throws. However, the Saints went 18-for-19 at the stripe to keep pace with the Blue and Gold.

ERAU dominated the glass, outrebounding the Saints, 52-33, with a 26-5 advantage in second chance points.

Jones finished with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Majstorovic went for 20 points and eight boards. Hunter had 13 points off the bench for ERAU, and Murray, getting his first career start, scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Henagan was a big force on the boards off the bench for the Eagles, finishing the night with a dozen rebounds.

The Eagles will finally get to play at home after six contests away from the ICI Center to start the 2018-19 season when they host Maine Fort Kent on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m.