DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - A tough shooting night for the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team was exploited by the No. 1 Nova Southeastern Sharks on Saturday night in the ICI Center, as the undefeated Sharks downed ERAU, 94-85 in both team's regular season finale. The Eagles (21-8, 14-6) will now turn their attention to the postseason, starting on Tuesday, March 1 when they host Palm Beach Atlantic at 7 p.m. NSU (25-0, 20-0 SSC) completed a perfect regular season run thanks to a second-half shooting effort of 62% from the field, and 60% from deep.
Embry-Riddle managed just 40% shooting for the night, 31% shooting from beyond the arc, and despite a 23-point effort from senior
Romeo Crouch, and a double-double from
Chris Murray (11 points, 13 rebounds), couldn't quite complete the upset bid.
Jerry Bracey II banked in a three right before the halftime buzzer to make it a six-point deficit for the Eagles at 46-40, that came after the Sharks led by as many as a dozen in the first half.
The second half was truly a half of runs, starting with ERAU's to trim the NSU lead to 46-45 when Crouch hit a triple, but the Sharks scored the next eight points before Murray's layup stopped the visitors spurt.
Nova Southeastern grew its lead to as many as 13 points, but a 7-0 Eagle run midway through the second half allowed the Eagles to get within 75-69 on a
Malcolm Whitlow layup. ERAU had a chance to get closer, but a missed jumper for the hosts was followed by back-to-back three-pointers for NSU, and the lead was once again 12.
Embry-Riddle had one final push in the waning minutes, closing to within 88-82 on a
Jon Alessandro three, but a missed Eagle three that would have made it a one possession game was rebounded by the Sharks and they closed the game at the free throw line.
Elijah Jenkins finished with 19 points, while Alessandro had 16 points, and five rebounds. Whitlow grabbed six boards, and dished out four assists. Crouch added three assists and two rebounds to his 23 points.
Five Eagle seniors were honored prior to Saturday's game, as Crouch, Jenkins,
Cj Henagan,
David Park, and
Nick Heard took the floor for the final time in the regular season.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
