DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team started a new season on Saturday night by concluding a perfect four-year GSC-SSC Classic rotation with a 70-65 victory over West Georgia in the ICI Center. The Eagles (1-0) held off the Wolves (0-1) for their fourth straight win over UWG in the Classic, wrapping up the four-season long event 7-0. Head Coach
Steve Ridder moved to 31-3 all-time in season openers as the Eagles won their 19th straight season lid-lifter and improved to 27-0 in home openers in the ICI Center.
The Eagles did the deed primarily on the defensive end, holding the Wolves to just 39% from the floor and 2-for-12 from distance, but the visitors were able to keep things close thanks to a 23-for-26 effort at the free throw line. ERAU spread it around on the offensive side of the ball, but it was
Chris Murray and
Dru Nickson leading the way with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
The first five minutes featured just two points, a layup from Murray that opened the scoring, but at the first media timeout of the night that was still the only points for either team with ERAU leading 2-0. Nickson's three pushed the lead to 5-0 at the 14:06 mark, and the Eagles then found their rhythm on the offensive end, sprinting out to a 15-4 lead at the 10:31 mark on a
Malcolm Whitlow triple.
After a brief UWG run that got its deficit back under 10, the Eagles responded with back-to-back treys from Nickson and
Jack Dillard, taking their largest lead of a dozen at 28-16, but the visitors had another run in them, trimming the cushion to just four with under three minutes to play in the half.
A
Michael McCalister three with 39 seconds on the clock allowed ERAU to take a 34-28 lead into the break.
The Eagles came out of the locker room with a spark, going on a quick 5-0 spurt to take the lead out to 11. McCalister's layup off a Whitlow assist at the 13:55 mark gave ERAU its biggest lead of the night at 47-32 and it look liked the hosts would run away with it, but the Wolves once again battled back, and starting around the five-minute mark clawed their way back in ot make the closing moments exciting.
A Nickson three at with just under three minutes left put the Blue and Gold up 61-51, but free throws allowed the Wolves to get back in, they went 9-for-10 down the stretch, also hitting a massive three in the waning moments to cut the Eagle lead to 65-62 with 21 seconds to go.
Wesley Simpson, who had been quiet offensively up to that point, calmly sunk both his free throws and Murray followed suit on the next ERAU possession as the Eagles iced the game at the line.
ERAU shot 45% from the field and went 9-for-26 from beyond the arc while out-rebounding UWG 35-28. Murray had seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks to go along with his 18 points, while Nickson grabbed five boards, and had two assists. Whitlow finished with a dozen points and seven assists, while McCalister had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds with four helpers.
The Eagles host longtime rival Flagler on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the ICI Center.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
