ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team notched its second road win of the year, defeating Flagler (1-2) 92-81at the Flagler Gymnasium on Tuesday. The win was the Eagles' first on the Saints' home court in three tries and improved Embry-Riddle's record to 3-1 overall.
Danny Sully had a career night for the Blue and Gold tallying career bests in points (17) and rebounds (13), shooting 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Dru Nickson and
Jerry Bracey II each had 14 points, while
Cameron Shockley-Okeke and
Michael McCalister added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Flagler was 60 percent from the field in the first half, compared to 57.9 percent by the Eagles, but ERAU made 22 field goals compared to just 18 by Flagler. The Eagles outrebounded the Saints 22-10, including a 10-4 advantage on the offensive boards and converted those into 16 second-chance points.
Flagler jumped out to an 8-2 lead but the Eagles, behind back-to-back baskets by McCalister, came all the way back to overtake the Saints 9-8. The game was close with neither side leading by more than two points until the 11:45 mark when a
Nikola Jerotic tip-in and a Bracey basket widened the Eagle lead to six (23-17).
The Saints battled back, however, and at the under-four media timeout, the Eagle lead had been trimmed to one (43-42). The first basket following the huddle went to Bracey and the Eagles outscored the Saints 10-6 in the last 2:57 to take a 55-48 lead in the halftime break.
The offense cooled for both teams in the second half as they combined for just 23 made field goals in the last 20 minutes.
The Saints made it a close game once again as one of their nine three-pointers cut the Eagle lead to two points (78-76) with 4:30 left to play. On the Eagles' next trip down the court, Shockley-Okeke fed Sully for a layup and that basket triggered a 14-5 run that ended with the 11-point win for ERAU.
The Eagles will be back at the ICI Center on Monday to host Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in the Fansgiving game at 7 p.m.
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle men's basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
