FT. LAUDERDALE, Florida - The No. 18/13 Embry-Riddle men's basketball team couldn't keep up with No. 4/7 Nova Southeastern on Sunday on the road, falling 93-71 at Rick Case Arena. The Eagles (11-3, 4-1) suffered their first Sunshine State Conference loss of the year, while the Sharks (12-0, 6-0) stayed perfect on the season.
Scoreless streaks and field goal droughts in both periods on Sunday doomed the Eagles, and 15 ERAU turnovers didn't help, leading to 23 NSU points.
The turning point in the game came with four and half minutes remaining in the first half. With the Sharks up 43-35, the Eagles had battled tough with the home team for the first 15-plus minutes of the period, but NSU ended the half on a 13-3 run to stretch an eight-point lead out to 18 by the end of the half. ERAU's only points during that stretch came at the free throw line as the Blue and Gold missed its final eight shots from the floor.
Nick Heard's triple at the 15:22 mark of the second half capped a 14-8 run for the Eagles to start the half, but once again the Eagles fell into a shooting slump, not making another field goal until
Danny Sully, making his season debut, hit a jumper with 5:04 on the clock, but the score at that point was 87-59 in favor of the Sharks.
ERAU shot just 37% from the field for the game and only 21% from long range, while the Sharks hit 50% of their field goals, 38% of their triples, and went 25-for-33 at the charity stripe.
Romeo Crouch finished with 18 points and five rebounds, while
Chris Murray had 14 points and nine boards. Sully went for 11 points and four rebounds.
The Eagles return to the ICI Center for a Wednesday, Jan. 5 contest against Florida Southern at 7:30 p.m.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
