DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The No. 12/20 Embry-Riddle men's basketball team got back in the win column on Saturday night thanks to a huge second-half effort, downing Florida Tech 92-79 in the ICI Center. Luka Majstorovic went for 20 points in the second period to lead the Eagles (12-2, 4-2 SSC) to their fourth straight win over the Panthers (7-7, 1-5 SSC). The Blue and Gold erased a 12-point deficit late in the first half and turned 17 FT turnovers into 28 points en route to their 12th win of the season.

His 24-point performance marked the 15th time Majstorovic scored 20-plus in an Eagle uniform, and the senior from Belgrade, Serbia notched his 14th career double-double with 11 rebounds. Romeo Crouch also had a double-double for the Eagles with 20 points and a career-high 11 assists, adding five steals and three rebounds as well. Getting his first start of the year, Nick Heard continued his hot streak of late, scoring 13 points with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Tylin Lockett-Fuller finished with 10 points, four steals, four rebounds and three helpers. 

As a team, the Eagles recorded 24 assists to just eight turnovers and shot 51 percent in the second half after starting the game below 30 percent for much of the first period. The Panthers began the contest shooting the ball very well, sprinting out to a 25-13 lead midway through the opening 20 minutes, and the Eagles couldn't get much closer than that until around the four-minute mark.

Trailing 36-24, the Eagles got a jumper from Lockett-Fuller to get within 10 and then the Eagle defense cranked it up a notch, not allowing FT to make another field goal the rest of the half. Nick Heard had a put-back to get ERAU within eight and then a Lockett-Fuller steal led to a Danny Sully dunk that made it a six-point game with 90 seconds left. Crouch drilled a triple with a minute remaining, and after a lone Florida Tech free throw, Lockett-Fuller made a driving layup and was fouled, making the and-one to trim the Eagle deficit to just one, 37-36.

Crouch gave the Eagles the lead right away to start the second half with a trey and the hosts never trailed again, going up 46-39 when Heard went coast-to-coast for a layup. Lockett-Fuller's three-pointer at the 14:46 mark pushed ERAU up double-digits, 56-46, and the lead ballooned to 16 with just under 11 minutes on the clock.

The Panthers outscored the Eagles by 11 over the next four minutes, cutting the lead to 75-70 with six minutes remaining, but Majstorovic took over, scoring the next 10 Eagle points, extending the cushion to 85-75 on an and-one, giving the Eagles a little breathing room with two minutes left.

Florida Tech couldn't get close over the final moments as ERAU finished the game on a 17-9 run to account for the 92-79 final.

Derek Murphy had a double-double of his own for the Panthers, scoring 22 points with 10 boards, while Valur Valsson also had a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists.

The Eagles head to the west side of the state on Wednesday when they take on Tampa at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 8.