SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team used a torrid second half on both ends of the floor to outlast Saint Leo on Saturday night, 77-60. The Eagles move to 16-8 (10-6 SSC) with the win, which also marks head coach Steve Ridder's 775th at the helm of the program.
 
Despite a slower-than-usual start, five different Eagles ended up hitting double-digits scoring on the night, led by Michael McCalister's 17. Along with his 50-percent shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep, McCalister added six rebounds. Danny Sully once again reached the double-double plateau with an even 10 points and 10 boards on the night, adding three assists as well.
 
Off the bench, the duo of Jerry Bracey II and Milan Skoric added 12 points apiece. Bracey II was 4-of-5 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 at the line, while Skoric went 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Jon Alessandro was key off the bench as well, adding 10 points and a pair of rebounds to the cause. In total, the ERAU bench outscored SLU's, 34-4, a crucial component to the win.
 
It was apparent out of the gates that Saint Leo would press and run the floor quickly, but the Eagles matched the energy. McCalister registered five of the first nine points for the visitors, capped by a three just before the first media timeout, to go up 9-7. After SLU tied it out of the break, McCalister added another deep ball for good measure.
 
Both teams raced back-and-forth, trading leads for much of the opening half. Leading the first charge off the bench, Skoric regained the lead for the Eagles at the 9:45 mark with a deep shot. The Lions would go on a spurt of offense themselves, but an offensive rebound by Sully allowed him to get second-chance points for the Blue & Gold, followed by another Skoric three to go up 25-23 at 5:37.
 
Two more threes, one from Malcolm Whitlow (8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), his first of the evening, and one from McCalister put the Eagles ahead once again at the 2:15 mark, but Saint Leo knocked down shots in back-to-back possessions to take a slim 33-31 lead into halftime. 
 
After neither side led by more than three points in the first half, Saint Leo came out of the break with a made three on their first possession to extend the lead to five points early. Whitlow had a hard-earned two trips down the court, one with a second-chance lay-in and one where he drew a foul and connected on two from the charity stripe. After Sully's successful trip to the line, Nickson knocked home a big three off a Sully rebound to give the Eagles their first lead in six minutes of game time, 41-40.
 
As time continued to tick, the Lions slowly fell into foul trouble. Cameron Shockley-Okeke – who was everywhere for the Eagles on the floor finishing with four points four steals, two rebounds and two assists – knocked home a pair of free throws, as did Whitlow, as the Eagles kept a slim advantage. But SLU reeled off a pair of quick threes to regain their lead once again at the 15:40 mark, 46-45
 
But once McCalister's jumper in the paint dropped at 12:27, ERAU locked in defensively, and went into overdrive. The Eagles' lead never fell below five points the rest of the way. The Blue & Gold continued to run their game, quick on offense and quick on defense. Alessandro added four more points down the stretch, including a no-look pass from Sully, then Sully connected on an alleyoop from Whitlow, and Skoric knocked down the final bucket of the game, a three with just 58 seconds left to secure the 77-60 win.
 
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Eagles will next host Eckerd on Wednesday night for the penultimate home game, before heading to Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday.