DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Just a few hours after receiving the highest
NCAA II Region Ranking in program history, the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team blitzed the visiting Eckerd Tritons, 88-73, to earn its 20th win of the 2021-22 campaign. The Eagles (20-6, 13-4 SSC) connected on 14 triples, their most in over a month, and once again dominated the glass against a Triton (5-15, 3-14 SSC) squad that shot the ball well, but couldn't keep pace with the Blue and Gold from beyond the arc.
The Eagles garnered the third spot in the initial South Region Rankings, the list that will determine the at-large qualifiers for the NCAA II National Tournament, behind top-ranked Nova Southeastern, and Barry. The Bucs, who lost on Wednesday at Florida Tech, will host ERAU on Saturday in Miami Shores, and now trail Embry-Riddle by two games in the loss column in conference action.
Elijah Jenkins scored 28 points behind six treys on Wednesday, dishing out six assists, and collecting two steals to lead the home team to the win.
Romeo Crouch flirted with a triple-double, scoring 18 points, with eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals, while
Malcolm Whitlow had 13 points, five boards, two assists, and two steals versus his former team.
The Eagles raced out to a 6-0 advantage in the first four minutes, and went up by eight (12-4) on one of Jenkins' six three-pointers. The Tritons stayed close thanks to the shooting of Daniel Love, getting to within three at 18-15 with just under 12 minutes to play.
Leading 29-22 at the 7:38 mark, the Eagles ended the half on a 17-7 run, starting with back-to-back three's from Crouch and
Cj Henagan, and capped by two free throws from Crouch in the waning seconds of the period. ERAU took a 46-29 lead into the break.
The Tritons began the second half on a 16-7 spurt to cut their deficit to eight (53-45), but that's as close as the Eagles allowed them to get, answering with five straight points from Crouch, and pushing the lead out to 18 (68-50) when
Jon Alessandro made a jumper with 9:11 left to play.
Embry-Riddle's lead grew to as many as 22 (78-56) when Whitlow hit a triple with five minutes to go, and the home team put things in cruise control the rest of the way, easing to the 88-73 final.
The Eagles shot 46% from the field, 42% from deep, and went 14-for-15 at the free throw line, but thanks to 17 offensive rebounds, and 19 Eckerd turnovers, the Eagles attempted 15 more shots than the visitors.
ERAU travels to Barry on Saturday for an all-important matchup with the Bucs. Tip is set for 4 p.m. in Miami Shores.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
