LAKELAND, Florida - The No. 24 Embry-Riddle men's basketball team overcame a poor shooting first half to force overtime, but ran out of gas on the road against Florida Southern on Wednesday night, losing 99-93. The Eagles (21-7, 14-5 SSC) shot just 38% for the game, while the Mocs (15-13, 12-8 SSC) concluded their regular season slate by shooting nearly 50% from the field, including going 5-for-8 in the extra period to send the Eagles to a six-point loss.
Romeo Crouch tied Harold Pierson's single-season record with his fourth 30-point game of the season, including the game-tying layup with three seconds to go to send the game to OT at 83-83, and
Malcolm Whitlow had a monster second half, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second period, but the Mocs got huge contributions off the bench, outscoring the Blue and Gold, 36-10 in that category.
The Eagles actually started the game very well, going out to a 22-9 lead at the 12-minute mark, however, the home team ended the half on a 34-16 run to take a 43-38 lead into the break.
Whitlow's first bucket of the game, a fastbreak layup with 18:31 on the clock in the second half, trimmed the ERAU deficit to two at 45-43, but FSC scored eight of the next 10 points to push the lead out to 53-44.
Florida Southern led by as many as 11 in the second half, and were up six at 72-66 with 7:11 to play, but the Eagles chipped away, mostly at the free throw line, and mostly free throws by Crouch. Crouch's layup at the 2:07 mark made it 80-77 FSC, and after an empty Moc possession, Whitlow hit an open jumper with 1:09 left.
Crouch stole the ball on the next FSC possession, making a bucket off an
Elijah Jenkins pass that briefly gave the Eagles an 81-80 lead. Following a Moc timeout, the hosts hit a long two-pointer to retake the lead, 82-81.
Michael McCalister missed an contested three-pointer in the corner on the next Eagle possession, but FSC went just 1-of-2 at the free throw line to give the Eagles some life.
On the final Eagle possession of regulation, Crouch drove through the Moc defense, putting in a tough layup with three seconds left, and the Mocs' desperation heave at the buzzer was off the mark.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Mocs started out hot in overtime, scoring the first eight points of the period to enjoy a 91-83 lead. Jenkins converted the rare four-point play with 2:22 left to go, and then the Eagles got to within a possession when Whitlow's layup was good with just under 90 seconds on the clock.
The ensuing FSC possession was probably the biggest of the game as Xavier Rhodes made a layup and was fouled, making the free throw to give the hosts a 94-89 lead.
Crouch made four free throws in the final minutes, but with FSC leading 97-93, the Eagles came up empty on their final possession, and the Mocs closed the game with a fast break layup, accounting for the 99-93 final.
Crouch add nine rebounds, three steals, and three assists to his 30 points, with Whitlow adding six assists to his 18 points. Jenkins finished with 17 points, while
Chris Murray has 14 points, and
Jon Alessandro went for 10 points, and seven boards.
The Eagles finish up the 2021-22 regular season on Saturday for Senior Night as they host the No. 1 and undefeated Nova Southeastern Sharks at 6 p.m. in the ICI Center.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
