MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - Barry's Health & Sports Center has proven to be a tough place for the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team as the No. 12/20 Eagles dropped their 2020 opener, 88-77 to Barry on Thursday night. ERAU (11-2, 3-2 SSC) scored a season-low 77 points, 25 below the Blue & Gold's season average, as the Bucs (10-2, 4-1 SSC) improved to 7-0 all-time against the Eagles in Miami Shores.

The Eagles shot 31-for-77 from the field for 40 percent, and only 8-for-32 from deep for 25 percent. ERAU's eight triples and 25 percent clip from long range were both the second-lowest of the season.

Luka Majstorovic did most of his damage in the second half, scoring a team-high 21 points for the Eagles, with Elijah Jenkins adding 15 points with a career-high seven rebounds. Romeo Crouch finished the night with 13 points, 14 rebounds (career-high), five assists and three steals. No other Eagle reached double-figures offensively.

The Eagles had no answer for Barry's Tylan Birts who scored a career-high 32 points on 12-for-19 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks.

The Bucs shot nearly 50 percent from the floor (34-for-69), and went 14-for-19 from the free throw line, while becoming just the second team to out-rebound the Eagles this year (45-43).

ERAU led 5-2 in the early-going, but an 8-0 Barry run gave them a 13-5 lead and the Eagles never led in the contest again. The visitors stayed within striking distance for the rest of the first half, even briefly tying the game at 25-25, but another Barry run, this time 12-3, gave the home team a 37-28 lead with 4:26 left in the period.

The Bucs took a 43-35 cushion into the half, and their lead grew to 52-41 early in the second before back-to-back three-pointers from Crouch and Jenkins cut the deficit to five. That sparked an 11-0 run for the Eagles with Majstorovic's jumper knotting the game at 52-52 with 14:41 on the clock.

Multiple times over the next few minutes the Eagles would tie it and have an opportunity to take a lead, but they couldn't break through.

The final tie score came at 70-70 when Dru Nickson made a layup off a Nick Heard assist with just under six minutes to play. However, a big Buc trey by Jake Kakar gave the Bucs the lead for good and ERAU would get no closer than three points over the waning minutes.

The Eagles will look to bounce back on Saturday when they host Florida Tech at the ICI Center for a 6 p.m. tip.