DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team was forced to grind out a win over Eckerd on Wednesday night, but the Eagles (17-8, 11-6 SSC) did just that and bested the Tritons (12-13, 7-10 SSC) in style, 96-92. The win is the third in a row for ERAU, and sixth in the last seven outings.
 
Statistically, the Eagles had a great game from the field, shooting a near-season-best 55.7-percent, including a bold 50-percent from deep (11-of-22) to earn the hard-fought win. Once again the Blue & Gold out rebounded their opponents, this time by a 32-28 margin, and used a 75-percent second-half free throw percentage to their advantage down the stretch.
 
Once again, senior Malcolm Whitlow paced the Eagles, this time scoring 28 points to go along with three assists and a pair of rebounds. Whitlow was dominant from deep, especially in the second half, shooting 6-for-8 from behind the arc on the night.
 
Dru Nickson had a stellar night himself as well, dropping 19 points seven rebounds and eight assists acting as ERAU's Mister Everywhere. Danny Sully couldn't make it three double-doubles in a row, but the senior forward put together a solid night, a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor to earn 13 points with four boards. 
 
Eckerd converted the first bucket of the night, a three ball from George Kimble, who finished with 26 points for the Tritons, and moved the lead to 6-2 after another three from Isaiah Placide to swing momentum early. 
 
In a fast-paced game that featured few whistles in the opening half, Whitlow and Cameron Shockley-Okeke quickly went back-to-back with threes to take an 8-6 lead at the 17:40 mark. Kimble would again put EC on top with a three at 15:40, but the Eagles used a blistering 15-2 run to take a 27-17 lead at 10:02 when Sully slammed home a dunk to ignite the ICI Center crowd. 
 
Milan Skoric, a deep threat off the bench, added another three, after Nikola Jerotic completed a traditional three-point play of his own, to make it 36-22, ERAU's largest lead of the evening. But as quickly as the Blue & Gold enjoyed its run, the Tritons turned the tide. EC used a 21-5 run to close out the half, but as time was set to expire, Michael McCalister batted in a loose ball from near the paint to knot things up at the break, 43-43.
 
Eckerd came out of halftime and scored again to regain the advantage, but Sully and Whitlow quieted the momentum with quick buckets, followed by a McCalister three to tie things back up at 52 all at the 16:30 mark. 
 
The two sides went back-and-forth in a track meet for the middle portion of the second half, but Eckerd extended their lead to 70-64 after Kimble knocked home a trio of free throws at the 10:45 mark. 
 
When it seemed like ERAU couldn't overcome the Tritons' attack, Jerry Bracey II sent in a pair of shots from the charity stripe himself to start an Eagle stretch of scoring. Nickson took over in the next two possessions, converting a couple of hard-earned layups in a row to re-tie the game at 70-70 with just under 10 minutes remaining. 
 
From there, the Eagles found themselves in precarious foul trouble and earned a bench warning as temperatures rose. Kimble once again forced EC ahead with a lay-in at 5:41, then Dante Bouchard added a deep three to go head 82-78. 
 
After Sully connected on the front-end of two free throws, Nickson worked hard to grab the rebound and dish it to Whitlow for the deep three to make it an 82-82 game, but Eckerd answered right back with another Bouchard three. Not to be outdone, Whitlow fired home two more consecutive threes to give the Eagles their first lead since the opening minutes of the half, 88-85.
 
Eckerd used an and-one to tie the game again, but Nickson drove to the bucket, shooting a jumper in the paint to keep ERAU ahead, 90-88. With both teams in foul trouble in the final two minutes, each teams' last points came by way of free throws. Whitlow and Nickson knocked down a pair each, and after Kimble missed a long three to try to win it, Bracey II secured a rebound off the glass, drawing a foul with under one second left, helping the Eagles secure the 96-92 victory.  
 
With just three regular season games remaining, the Eagles hold their destiny as far as hosting the first round of the SSC Tournament come March. Next up, ERAU heads to Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday, before the home finale versus Barry next Wednesday.
 
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle men's basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.