LAKELAND, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team tipped off its Sunshine State Conference season with a 89-63 loss to Florida Southern Saturday night in Lakeland.
Cameron Shockley-Okeke paced the Eagles with 15 points, including 12 in the second half.
The Eagles (5-2, 0-1 SSC) struggled to catch up to the Moccasins (6-3, 2-0 SSC) after a 19-6 FSC run in the early going of the first half.
Malcolm Whitlow registered 10 points in the first frame on 3-of-8 shooting, going 2-for-4 behind the arc, but it was too much to overcome as FSC's Akol Arop and Erickson Bans both levied double digits in the opening half.
Embry-Riddle fell behind after taking a 7-6 lead early off a Whitlow bucket from range, shooting just 35-percent from the field and 14-percent from 3-point range, but the Mocs took a 8-7 lead and never looked back. The hosts shot 44-percent from the field and 41-percent from behind the arc to secure their second conference win as many games.
Florida Southern had reeled off a 19-6 run before
Michael McCalister and Shockley-Okeke made the next two-of-three buckets, but the Mocs three-point shooting made the difference in the early going, taking a 45-29 lead into the half.
The Eagles found themselves in foul trouble early in the second half, with FSC rolling to a 21-4 run to open the frame. Shockley-Okeke reeled off 10 points in a row to bring the Eagles within 31 at 86-55, but it was too little too late.
David Velasco played well off the bench, firing in three out of four buckets for six points in the second half, while
Danny Sully collected a game-high 10 rebounds when the dust settled. Sully also chipped in seven points to the cause, while
Dru Nickson scored four points with four rebounds.
Despite the conference opening loss, the Eagles look to rebound at home when the Florida Tech Panthers visit the ICI Center on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle men's basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
