DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team moved to 6-0 on the season on Saturday evening, holding off Auburn Montgomery's charge in the second half of the final game of the 2021 Bahama House Shootout, 82-74. The Eagles (6-0) saw a 13-point lead in the second half disappear as the Warhawks (1-3) at one point were shooting 70% in the frame to tie the game with six minutes left, but the home team was able to outscore AUM 11-4 over the last three-and-a-half minutes to emerge with the eight-point win.
Romeo Crouch scored a game-high 21 points with four triples (three coming in the second half), while
Jon Alessandro went for his third straight double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down a career-best 15 rebounds.
Elijah Jenkins, who was honored prior to the start of the contest for his 2020-21 Sunshine State Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, had 14 points, five assists, and five boards, and
Malcolm Whitlow provided 14 points and four boards off the bench.
The Eagles started the night ice cold from the floor, going 0-for-7 from the field before Jenkins made a baseline jumper that resulted in an and-one more than five minutes into the contest. AUM led 15-7 on a Deven Tucker layup at the 11:09 mark, but the Eagles rattled off eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers from Crouch and Whitlow, to tie the game at 15-15.
ERAU took its first lead of the night on two Whitlow free throws a few moments later, and that sparked a 7-0 run, capped by a Jenkins trey, making it 23-16.
Embry-Riddle extended the lead to 11 at the 2:43 mark when Crouch got a steal and breakaway layup to put ERAU up 34-23, and the Blue and Gold would take a 39-29 cushion into the break.
The second period was controlled by the Eagles for the first five minutes as the hosts pulled out to a 13-point advantage on a
Nick Heard and-one (55-42), the it seemed like the game was nearly in hand for Embry-Riddle as they led 60-50 with 12:19 to pla. However, the Warhawks started to get hot, getting their deficit down to 64-61 on a Jeremiah Bozeman three with 7:50 on the clock, and after the Eagles missed a shot and free throws, Isaiah Hart tied the game with another three a minute later.
Crouch's jumper on the next Eagle possession put ERAU back in front, and the Eagles got a defensive stop before Alessandro got a pass from Crouch and converted the jumper in the paint to push the lead to four. A steal from
Nikola Jerotic and a three from Jenkins seemed once again to pretty much wrap things up for the Eagles, but again the Warhawks answered, outscoring the home team 6-0 over the next two minutes, cutting the Eagle lead to 71-70 with 3:42 to play.
The biggest bucket of the night came on the next Eagle possession as Crouch drilled a three-pointer to give ERAU some breathing room. AUM got back to within a possession on a pair of free throws from Bozeman with 69 seconds left, but Alessandro found Whitlow with the shot clock winding down on the next trip down the floor, and Whitlow hit an acrobatic layup while being fouled, converting the and-one for the Eagles to have a 79-74 lead.
The Eagles forced a missed shot from AUM and then Whitlow and Jenkins made three-of-four free throws in the last 20 seconds to seal the victory.
In addition to his game-high 21, Crouch dished out six assists, collected three steals, and had three rebounds. Heard finished with eight points, and two boards, while Jerotic pulled down six rebounds.
The Eagles make the short trip north on Tuesday, Nov. 23 to take on long-time rival Flagler. The No. 11 Eagles and No. 2/14 Saints will meet up as ranked foes for the first time ever as NCAA members. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Flagler Gymnasium.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
