DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -
Steve Ridder joined an ultra-exclusive list on Friday night as his Embry-Riddle men's basketball team took care of Spring Hill on the first night of the 2019 Daytona Mitsubishi / Kia Shootout, 109-76, giving Ridder his 700th career victory. Ridder became just the 58th coach in men's college basketball history to reach the 700-win plateau, and is just the fifth active NCAA II coach with 700 victories. The Eagles (4-0) blitzed the Badgers (0-3) with a 63-point first half and were never threatened, cruising to the 33-point win.
ERAU shot 62 percent from the field in the opening period, and finished the game 39-for-76 from the floor for 51 percent. The Eagles hit 18 three-pointers and dominated the glass, 53-41.
Five Eagles scored in double-figures, led by
Elijah Jenkins' 20 points with six triples.
Luka Majstorovic had 19 points with 9 boards, while
David Park came off the bench for 15 points.
Chris Murray went for 11 points and seven rebounds and
Tylin Lockett-Fuller rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
Dru Nickson had nine assists off the bench.
Jenkins hit a trey on the first possession and the Eagles started hot, making their first nine shots for a 19-8 lead with 14:30 on the clock in the first half.
A pair of Majstorovic free throws pushed the Eagle lead to 19 (31-12) with 11 minutes to play, and the cushion ballooned to 27 when Park hit a three to make it 48-21.
Lockett-Fuller's shot from long range pushed the advantage to 34 (57-23) at the 4:34 mark, and the Eagles settled for a 63-35 lead at the break after
Nick Heard made a jumper with just two seconds left.
ERAU's 63 points in the first half nearly matched the program record of 65 first-half points in ERAU's season-opening victory in 1995 over American Indian (Ariz.).
The Blue and Gold's biggest lead was 44 with 8:24 left in the game on a Nickson fastbreak layup as both teams emptied the benches.
Max Michalski and
Terry Hu made their Embry-Riddle debuts, with Michalski hitting a three for his first collegiate points.
The Eagles will take on Auburn Montgomery tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the ICI Center. AUM defeated Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 97-74 in the Shootout opener.
For Ridder, his 700 victories came in just 986 games over 31 seasons with Embry-Riddle. He is the 29th coach to get all 700 wins at one school and the 16th active coach in collegiate men's basketball to reach the 700-win plateau.
