ST. JOSEPH, Missouri - The 34th season of Embry-Riddle men's basketball is set to begin on Saturday as the Eagles travel to St. Joseph, Missouri for the 2021 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Civic Arena. Head Coach Steve Ridder and his team will take on host school Missouri Western State and South Region foe Alabama-Huntsville over the weekend in one of just a handful of exempt NCAA II tournaments across the country.

It will be 611 days between official games for the Blue and Gold; the last time ERAU played a countable contest was March 5, 2020 in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinals. Embry-Riddle was in Lakeland, Florida prepping for the 2020 NCAA II National Tournament when the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down...and little did the Eagles know, but it would be nearly 20 full months before they would play again.

Embry-Riddle does return the bulk (68%) of its scoring from 2019-20, as well as 50% of the team's rebounds, 70% of the assists and 83% of made three-pointers from the squad that led all of NCAA II in made triples per game (13.4) in 2019-20. Romeo Crouch, a preseason All-American prior to the 2020-21 season, averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 steals in his first campaign with ERAU. The Titusville, Florida native connected on a team-high 115 treys as a junior, and his backcourt mate Elijah Jenkins' 196 career three-pointers rank seventh in program history. Jenkins averaged 13.4 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 boards in his last season for Embry-Riddle.

Also returning for the Blue and Gold are Nick Heard (10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds), Chris Murray (9.0 points, 6.8 rebounds), and Cj Henagan (5.2 points, 4.9 rebounds), as well as David Park, Danny Sully, DeJean Desiré, and Calvin Freeman II. David Velasco returns to the court after a redshirt season in 2019-20, and ERAU added a trio of transfers in Jon Alessandro (West Liberty), Malcolm Whitlow (Eckerd/Pratt CC), and Nikola Jerotic (Santa Fe). Four true freshmen are on the roster for 2021-22 in Jack Dillard, Michael McCalister, Jerry Bracey II, and Logan Kowalski.

The Eagles' first opponent of the season, Missouri Western State, went 14-11 in 2020-21, including a 13-9 mark in the MIAA, the league that Northwest Missouri State, and Washburn, among others, compete in. The Griffons finished in a tie for third in the league standings last year, losing in the MIAA Tournament to Washburn. The Griffons lost their leading scorer from last year, Tyrell Carroll (17.2 points, 4.1 assists), but return Will Eames (11.9 points, 8.7 rebounds), JaQuaylon Mays (11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds), along with Caleb Bennett (11.6 points), and Reese Glover (10.8 points).

MIAA coaches picked Missouri Western to finish fifth in their preseason poll, while the MIAA media had the Griffons third. Missouri Western is also receiving votes in the NABC Preseason Poll. This will be the third season the Griffons have played in the SCB HOF Classic, they are 1-3 all-time in the event.

On Sunday, the Eagles will play No. 20 Alabama-Huntsville, a team that went 15-4 in 2020-21, 12-1 in the Gulf South Conference and advanced to the NCAA South Regional final where they lost to eventual national tournament semifinalist Flagler. UAH will have to replace five of its six leading scorers from a year ago, but Max Shulman (9.8 points, 6.3 rebounds) returns, and the Chargers brought in NAIA All-American C.J. Williamson (Faulkner) as well as freshman Sutton Smith, both of whom were named to the GSC Newcomers to Watch list.

Alabama-Huntsville was picked fourth by the GSC coaches in the preseason poll, garnering one first-place vote. This year will be the Chargers' second time in the SCB HOF Classic, they went 1-1 in their first trip to the event.

Both games can be viewed for a fee on The MIAA Network. Live stats will also be provided. Tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster or at the gate of Civic Arena.

The eight-team classic comes after the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday, Nov. 5 where the 2020 class of the SCB HOF will be honored.

During the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, Small College Basketball will honor the 2020 Harry Statham Coach of Impact Award winner (Ken Ammann, Concordia, Calif.), and the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award winners (Roy Pickerill & Joel Utley, Kentucky Wesleyan).

The Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Class of 2020, which was announced earlier in 2020, consists of the following members:

Players
Eric Brand, Bethel (IN)
Corey Crowder, Kentucky Wesleyan
Kenny Davis, Georgetown College
Andre Foreman, Salisbury
Stan Gouard, Southern Indiana
Andy Panko, Lebanon Valley
Archie Talley, Salem College (WV)
Dallas Thornton, Kentucky Wesleyan
Larry Wilson, Nicholls State

Coaches
Roger Kaiser, West Georgia & Life
Mike Lightfoot, Bethel (IN)

Contributor
A.O. Duer

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The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.