WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - A month after overcoming an 18-point deficit against Palm Beach Atlantic in the ICI Center, the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team again used an impressive second-half effort to come from behind and beat the Sailfish, 78-67 at Rubin Arena on Saturday. The Eagles (19-6, 12-4 SSC) shot 54% from the floor in the second half, and held PBA (6-17, 6-11 SSC) to just 37% shooting in the closing period.
PBA led by 10 (37-27) with a little over a minute left to play in the first half, but from that point on, the Eagles outscored the home team by a 51-30 margin, including a mini 6-0 spurt to end the first half and give ERAU some momentum heading into the break.
Despite ERAU's run to end the half, the Sailfish came out of the locker room and held a slim margin for most of the first five minutes. With the Eagles trailing 43-37 ,
Chris Murray hit a pair of free throws that started a 14-5 run for the Eagles, capped by a
Malcolm Whitlow trey at the 11:33 mark, giving Embry-Riddle a 51-48 advantage.
After two PBA free throws made it a one point game, the Blue and Gold scored eight straight, starting with a
Romeo Crouch three-pointer, and ending with a Whitlow jumper in the lane.
The Eagles pushed their lead out to 12 when
Jon Alessandro hit a turnaround jump shot with 3:13 on the clock, and ERAU would never allow the Sailfish within 10 the rest of the way.
Crouch scored 22 points, while Alessandro finished with 17 for ERAU. Whitlow's 14 points came with five assists, and
Elijah Jenkins was the other Eagle in double-figures with 11.
Chris Murray pulled down 10 rebounds for the second straight contest, and the trio of Crouch, Jenkins, and Whitlow each had three steals.
The victory moved Head Coach
Steve Ridder past the late legendary Taylor (Ind.) Head Coach Paul Patterson on the all-time wins list (735).
Embry-Riddle returns to Daytona Beach where the Eagles will host Eckerd on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the ICI Center.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
