LAKELAND, Fla. - Big free throw and three-point shooting disparities proved too much for the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team to overcome on the road on Wednesday night as the Eagles dropped an 81-70 decision to No. 15 Florida Southern.
The Eagles (7-5, 1-2 SSC) got another huge game from
Luka Majstorovic who carried the Blue and Gold with 25 points on 12-for-17 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. However, the rest of the Eagles managed less than a 30 percent clip from the field against the Mocs (6-1, 2-0 SSC) who went 27-for-41 at the free throw line and made 10 triples on the night.
Majstorovic was responsible for nine of the Eagles' first 12 points as the visitors took a 12-8 lead on the Serbia native's jumper with 15:29 to go in the first.
Elijah Jenkins made a three on the next ERAU possession to put the Eagles up seven, but FSC chipped away and tied the game on a Jonathan Lawton three that made it 22-22 with under 11 minutes left in the half.
The two teams played evenly until the five-minute mark. An
Alston Jones layup put the Eagles up 30-29, but the Mocs closed the half on a 14-7 run, capped by a Lawton trey with five seconds left as the hosts took a 43-37 lead into the break.
Majstorovic and front court mate
Chris Murray scored back-to-back buckets for the Eagles to open the second half, but then Lawton took over, scoring five straight, sparking FSC to a 9-2 run that pushed the lead to 11 at 54-43.
ERAU got to within three on a Jones free throw at the 12-minute mark (58-55), but the Eagles went scoreless over the next seven minutes, seeing their three-point deficit grow to 19 on a Kai Cleary three with 4:22 to play. ERAU missed 14 consecutive shots until
Tylin Lockett-Fuller broke the streak with a three with 4:01 left on the clock, but it was too little, too late with the Mocs up 74-58.
The Eagles finished just 5-for-19 (26.3%) from long range and went 13-for-22 (59.1%) at the charity stripe, their worst free throw shooting game of the season.
Majstorovic's 25 gave him 10 double-digit scoring outings on the year, and 46 for his career.
ERAU has nearly two weeks to rest and prepare for the Florida Tech Winter Classic (Dec. 18-19) when they will take on Tiffin and Columbia International in Melbourne.
