TAMPA, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team suffered its third loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling 92-81 at Tampa, thanks in large part to a rough start. The Eagles (12-3, 4-3 SSC) could not get anything to fall in the early going, finding themselves down 20-2 after seven minutes. ERAU battled back throughout the rest of the night, getting to within a possession late in the contest, but ultimately couldn't complete the comeback, as Tampa (4-10, 1-5) earned its first SSC win of the season.

The Spartans out-shot the visitors by a wide margin, managing 53 percent from the floor, compared to the Eagles' 40 percent. ERAU once again struggled mightily from the perimeter, making 11-for-31 from deep. Since the calendar rolled over, the Eagles have shot just 30 percent from three-point range.

Luka Majstorovic had 17 points for ERAU, adding nine rebounds, with Romeo Crouch and Elijah Jenkins both scoring 16 for the Eagles and Tylin Lockett-Fuller chipping in 13 off the bench.

Pat Bacon went for a career-high 40 points against the Eagle, leading the charge for a Spartan team that scored a season-high 92 points. UT also out-scored the Eagles in the paint, 48-34.

After starting in a 20-2 hole, the Eagles went on a 15-9 run over the next eight minutes, but the Spartans stopped the run and increased their lead out to the biggest of the game at 19 with 4:37 left to play. ERAU found itself down 43-26 at the break.

The second half was a much different story, starting around the 18-minute mark when the Eagles, trailing 47-31, went on a 10-4 run to trim the deficit to single-digits, ultimately getting to within 55-51 on two David Park free throws with 11:24 on the clock.

UT pushed the lead back to a dozen with six minutes left, but the Eagles had one final spurt left in them as Crouch scored back-to-back layups to spark the charge.

Dru Nickson's free throws with 1:33 left made it 75-72, but Bacon then made a layup and was fouled for perhaps the biggest moment of the nght, and the Eagles would not get closer.

ERAU hosts Eckerd on Saturday, Jan. 11 for a 6 p.m. tilt before a three-game road swing awaits the Blue and Gold.