WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team put on a showtime display on Saturday as the Eagles (18-8, 12-6 SSC) used a high-powered offense and a suffocating defense to come away with an 87-71 victory over the Sailfish (16-11, 10-9 SSC), spoiling PBA's Senior Day.
 
The Eagles allowed the Sailfish to shoot only a meager 34-percent from the floor (17-of-45) and  25-percent from three (4-for-17 overall and 0-for-7 in the first half), while shooting 55-percent themselves (32-for-58) – for the second game in a row – and 57-percent from behind the arc (12-for-21, including a blistering 9-for-11 in the second half).
 
Michael McCalister and Cameron Shockley-Okeke were a lethal one-two punch on the evening, combining for 34 points. McCalister had a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds, a season-best while giving him a double-double. Shockley-Okeke was everywhere on Saturday, and was nearly perfect, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-3 from range. He finished with 16 points, two big blocks and a pair of assists.
 
The Eagle defense was a big bright spot as well, halting anything that PBA threw at them. In all, ERAU forced 16 turnovers, collected six blocks and three steals. It took almost six minutes until the Sailfish found a bucket, but by that time it was 8-0 already. Dru Nickson, who finished with an impressive all-around performance with five points, six rebounds and seven dimes, immediately dropped a three-pointer to make it 11-3 with 13:25 left in the first. Danny Sully then collected a couple of big rebounds and a block down the stretch. He finished with four points and nine big rebounds to go along with the block.
 
At the 12:04 mark, Malcolm Whitlow hit a jumper to make it 15-5, keeping up momentum for the Eagles. Whitlow had a productive night with eight points, four assists, three rebounds and a block on a last-second PBA shot at the buzzer in the first half.
 
PBA got the lead to around six midway through the first, but that's when the Eagles bench entered the game. Nikola Jerotic stopped a PBA run with a layup to push the lead back up to eight points with eight minutes to go. Jerotic finished with six points, adding to the bench's total to 36 on the night. 
 
A bulk of the points off the bench came from Milan Skoric who went off for 17 points, his best performance of the month. He went 5-for-7 from three-point range, the fourth time in the last seven outings the redshirt freshman has shot above 60-percent from deep. Jerry Bracey II ended his night with six points and five rebounds and collected one of the six Eagle blocks. Jon Alessandro went 2-for-3 from the field and had seven points and three assists. 
 
After a 40-25 halftime advantage, the Eagles came out hot to start the second. McCalister and Shockley-Okeke didn't cool down at half, they heated up. The duo combined for 21 of the Eagles' first 23 points to open the frame (they went 8-for-9 in that stretch), subbing out when ERAU was up 63-39 with 12:16 to play.
 
Alessandro and Skoric enjoyed a great run of play later, firing in four three-pointers in four possessions between them, eventually making it 76-46 in favor of the Blue & Gold at 7:22.
 
Jerotic and Alessandro continued to work down low, collecting rebounds and layups, but PBA found itself with a bit of success down the stretch of the second half – even if it was cutting the lead to 17 at 81-64. But a Nickson jumper at 2:08, followed by a pair of Bracey II free throws to make it 85-64 at 1:33, and two more from Skoric with under a minute to play, the Eagles walked away with the 87-71 victory. 
 
After the win, the Eagles remain in third place in SSC standings with two games to play. ERAU will host Barry on Senior Night Presented by Radiology Associates this coming Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. 
 
 
 
The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle men's basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.