DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - For the 750th time in his career, Embry-Riddle's
Steve Ridder led his men's basketball squad to a victory, the latest coming on Friday night in the ICI Center as the Eagles downed visiting Barry, 88-79 on the court that bears he and his wife Vicky's names. Embry-Riddle improved to 10-2 overall on the year and notched Sunshine State Conference win No. 3 against two losses, while the Bucs dropped to 5-4 overall and 1-3 in SSC play as both teams closed out the 2022 calendar year.
Friday's game featured a little bit of everything as ERAU sprinted out to a big lead in the first half before the Bucs chipped away and tied the game at the half. The two teams went back-and-forth in the second period with eight lead changes and five ties and both squads getting into foul trouble.
The contest was decided in the final four minutes with the Eagles down 75-74. An offensive rebound from
Wesley Simpson led to a layup from
Michael McCalister to give the hosts a 76-75 lead, one they would not relinquish the rest of the way. A defensive stop followed by a long two-point jumper from
Chris Murray pushed the Eagle lead to three and after a second straight defensive stand,
Malcolm Whitlow drove the lane, hitting a tough runner that made it 80-75 with two minutes to play.
Jon Alessandro came up with one of his two steals in the final two minutes on the next Barry possession, and once again it was an offensive rebound that led to an easy bucket for McCalister off a Murray pass, growing the lead to 82-75 with less than 90 seconds on the clock.
Barry went on a quick 4-0 spurt to trim the Eagle cushion to three, but with the Bucs forced to foul, Alessandro was sent to the line with 40 seconds left and he hit both to make it a two possession lead for the Blue and Gold.
Barry was whistled for an offensive foul on its next trip down the floor, and this time it was Whitlow that calmly hit both free throws to make it 86-79, and following the Bucs' second straight turnover Alessandro accounted for the final score with two makes at the charity stripe.
Alessandro was on fire to start the game, hitting his first four shots, including three from deep as the Eagles sprinted out to a 12-4 lead in the first four minutes. ERAU grew the advantage to 26-14 when Simpson hit a layup from a Murray assist, and the biggest lead of the night came a few minutes later when Murray got an offensive rebound and layup for a 32-18 cushion with eight minutes and change left in the first.
However, the visitors would rally after that, outscoring the Eagles by 14 over the final eight minutes as the Blue and Gold struggled from the field, hitting just one of its final 14 field goal attempts in the period and a Barry layup in the waning seconds of the half knotted the game at 42-42 and gave the Bucs all the momentum.
Out of the break both teams struggled to score, but it was Barry to strike first, getting a layup for its first lead of the night, quickly doubling that lead to four on another layup a few moments later.
McCalister's and-one on the next ERAU possession stopped the mini-run, and ERAU regained the lead on a
Dru Nickson triple with 16:40 on the clock.
Neither team led by more than six over the next 12 minutes, with Barry and ERAU answering each other nearly shot-for-shot. Whitlow's first made field goal was a huge three at the 10:44 mark to push the Eagle lead to 66-62, but the Bucs responded with an 8-3 run over the next four minutes, leading into the final four minutes of the contest when the Eagles owned the final moments en route to the 88-79 final.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Blue and Gold, led by Murray's double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four assists. Nickson finished wiht 18 points and four assists, while Alessandro had 17 points, three rebounds and two steals. Whitlow went for 14 points, three boards and three helpers, and McCalister had 12 points and six rebounds.
The Eagles finished the game 26-for-36 at the free throw line, and owned the glass, 47-31.
Ridder's 750th victory makes him just the 43rd men's college basketball coach in history to reach that plateau. Ridder's 750-308 record at Embry-Riddle gives him the second-most wins among active NCAA II coaches, and he is the eighth-winningest active men's coach in the entire NCAA.
The Eagles open 2023 on the road at Eckerd on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. in St. Petersburg.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
