FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Ultimately the big picture is that the fifth-seeded Embry-Riddle men's basketball team is moving on to the second round of the NCAA II National Tournament, but the story within the story was Malcolm Whitlow. The senior guard tied the Embry-Riddle program record for three pointers made in a game, knocking home 11 triples en route to a 35-point night, in the Eagles' electric 104-78 win over No. 4-seed Alabama Huntsville on Saturday night.
 
The 104 points is the second-most ever scored in the postseason by an Eagle team, and far and away the highest total in the postseason as a Division II member. Whitlow, who already had a 41-point game this season, went 11-for-18 from deep to set another Eagle record for total points in a postseason game at 35. 
 
ERAU was 18-for-37 from deep (48.6-percent) thanks to Whitlow primarily, but Cameron Shockley-Okeke tied his season-high mark of 22 points, going 5-for-12 from deep, and Dru Nickson, who finished with 10 points, four rebounds and six assists, went 2-for-5 from downtown. 
 
Danny Sully and Michael McCalister combined for 18 rebounds alone (nine apiece), 11 of which were offensive. The Eagles outworked the Chargers on the glass all night and finished with a 43-21 advantage. 
 
In the first three minutes, it was a back-and-forth affair, but just four minutes in, the game was trending out of hand. Shockley-Okeke was the one to break open the scoring, putting the Eagles up early 3-0, but UAH tied it in the next possession with a three of their own. Whitlow and Sully went back-to-back buckets, but then at the 17:18 mark, UAH tied it once again at 8-8.
 
But after Dru Nickson landed home a three at 16:16 to go up 11-8, the Eagles never looked back and never lost the lead. As the clock ticked on towards the middle of the first half, Whitlow went on a tear. Already 2-for-2, Whitlow reeled off six more threes, three in a span of a minute near the 8-minute mark, the last of which put ERAU up big, 40-17 with 8:12 left. 
 
The Eagles' defense was stifling on Saturday, forcing bad shots and turnovers, getting steals and crashing the boards. Sully, who collected seven rebounds in the first half alone, had a five-run stretch to put the Eagles up 48-22 with 6:01 to play in the first. Shockley-Okeke took control down the stretch when it came to scoring, but Whitlow Nickson and Nikola Jerotic added buckets as well, as ERAU took an incredible 60-32 lead into the break.
 
Right out of the gates, the lead was pushed to 30, 62-32, thanks to a McCalister layup to get things rolling in the second half. Whitlow then made another flurry of threes in a one minute stretch to extend the lead to 74-42 with 16:28 left to play.
 
McCalister had a nice run of play towards the middle of the half with a few buckets from all over the field, then Nickson hit his second three of the night at 12:12 to make it an 82-51 game. By the time the starters left the floor for the most part, the. Eagles found themselves up 100-70, never losing pace. Jerry Bracey II and Jon Alessandro were big down the stretch, not allowing UAH to come from behind in any fashion. Both finished with six points apiece off the bench. David Velasco also entered the scoring column, putting the Eagles up 102-73, then a pair of free throws from Alessandro gave ERAU its ultimate 104 points with about a minute to play. But by that time, things were locked up for the No. 5 seed, eventually taking it 104-78.
 
Up next, the Eagles will take on a tough but familiar foe in host and No. 1 seed Nova Southeastern Sunday evening in the Region semifinals.