DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team gave No. 1/2 Nova Southeastern all they could handle on Wednesday night in the ICI Center before the Sharks pulled away in the second half for an 88-76 win over the Eagles. ERAU dropped their third straight, falling to 12-5 overall and 5-5 in the Sunshine State Conference, while the Sharks stayed perfect, going to 17-0 on the year and 10-0 in league play.
The Eagles became the first team to lead NSU at the break, taking a 41-40 lead into half, but a 16-3 run early in the second period spelled doom for the hosts, despite ERAU out-shooting the Sharks 50% to 43%. NSU feasted on offensive rebounds, grabbing 16 of them on the night, leading to 22 second chance points. The Eagles lost the rebounding battle for the first time in 2022-23 (39-36), turning the ball over 22 times that allowed the visitors to score 25 points off ERAU miscues.
Embry-Riddle played very well in the first half, going up 7-5 on a
Jon Alessandro triple at the 16:45 mark, and the two teams went back-and-forth with the first 20 minutes featuring 12 lead changes.
Dru Nickson's fastbreak layup at the 9:54 mark gave the Eagles a 16-15 lead, but the Sharks responded with a 4-0 run before a thunderous dunk from
Michael McCalister stopped the mini-run.
McCalister's three-pointer a few moments later tied the game at 21-21, and Nickson hit one from deep around the seven-minute mark, trimming NSU's advantage to 25-24.
Jared Berry and
Wesley Simpson made a pair of buckets for a 39-35 Eagle lead with 90 seconds to go, and Berry added two free throws for a 41-37 advantage under a minute. However, Will Yoakum nailed a corner three at the buzzer for the Sharks, making it a one-point game at the half.
Embry-Riddle began the second period with four straight points, going up five on two
Malcolm Whitlow free throws, and led 50-47 at the 17:06 mark, but the No. 1 Sharks turned the game around over the next three minutes, going on a 12-0 run that including a pair of treys, suddenly taking a 59-50 lead before Whitlow stopped things with a layup.
The Eagles got the deficit down to 62-56, but once again the visitors had a big spurt in them, going on an 11-1 run for a 73-57 lead with under 10 to play, putting the game nearly out of reach for the Blue and Gold.
The lead grew to as many as 21 at 86-65, but the home team ended the contest outscoring the Sharks by nine over the final three minutes to account for the 88-76 final, the closest game the Sharks have had this season.
McCalister led all Eagles with 16 points and 10 rebounds in addition to a pair of blocks, while both
Chris Murray and Simpson finished with 11 points.
ERAU hosts Tampa on Saturday, Jan. 21 for a 6 p.m. tip.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
