LAKELAND, Florida - The Florida Southern Moccasins snapped Embry-Riddle men's basketball's two-game winning streak on Saturday night with a x-x win at Jenkins Field House. The Eagles (17-8, 10-8 SSC) narrowly avoided their biggest NCAA II loss thanks to a 7-0 run over the final two minutes of the contest. The Mocs (18-7, 12-6 SSC) had a monster first half, particularly the last 10 minutes before halftime, ending the period on a 37-9 run, one the Eagles could never recover from.
The hosts shot 50% from the field for the game, led by Jadin Booth's 35 points, while the Eagles managed just 40% from the floor, including a 6-for-30 effort from deep. FSC also grabbed more rebounds than the Eagles (48-38).
Michael McCalister scored 20 points and grabbed five boards off the bench while
Chris Murray had his third straight double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Believe it or not, the Eagles were the better team to start the game, going out 4-0 early, and taking their largest lead of the first half at 16-7 when Murray completed an and-one over the course of the game's first media timeout.
McCalister's three-pointer at the 9:25 mark put ERAU up 25-22, but that was the last bright spot for the Eagles. Starting with a pair of Booth free throws, the Mocs went on an 11-0 run to take an eight-point lead and never looked back.Â
FSC's advantage grew to double-digits by the five-minute mark, and
Dru Nickson's trey with three to play in the first was the final points the Blue and Gold would score in the period as the Mocs ended the half on a 13-0 run to go into the break up 59-34.
Embry-Riddle did manage to outscore the Mocs in the second half, 41-39, but the first half damage was done and the home team improved to 8-2 all-time in Lakeland against ERAU.
The Eagles return to Daytona Beach to host Rollins on Wednesday, Feb. 22 for Senior Night and the final regular season home game of the 2022-23 campaign. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
The 2022-23 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
