FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The 2023-24 Embry-Riddle men's basketball season concluded Sunday night in the NCAA II National Tournament as the Eagles (22-10) fell to the No. 1 Nova Southeastern Sharks (29-2), 81-73, in Rick Case Arena.
 
The Eagles, who reached the National Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, stayed with the high-flying Sharks much of the night, save the first six minutes of the first half, when NSU held an initial 13-0 lead. From there ERAU had to play from behind, but battled back multiple times, even getting within four at a couple points.
 
ERAU limited a potent offense to just 40-percent shooting on the night, holding NSU to their third-lowest offensive output all season at 81 points. But the Eagles shot just 36-percent from the floor, and went just 8-for-28 from behind the arc. NSU also held the rebounding edge, but the Blue and Gold was great on the offensive glass again, outrebounding the home squad, 19-16.
 
After netting 22 in the opening round, Cameron Shockley-Okeke led all Eagles with 21 points, including 15 in the first half. He was perfect from the line (7-7) as well. It was his three from the wing that gave ERAU its first points with just under 15 minutes to play in the first.
 
Jerry Bracey II had a stellar game off the bench, dropping 14 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists to just one turnover. He made tough drives all evening, and was big on the boards, flying in from all corners. Two buckets from Bracey and a free throw and layup from Nikola Jerotic moved the line to 18-10 NSU at the halfway point in the first.
 
After an ERAU record-setting 35 point game the night prior, Whitlow connected on his first shot to pull the Eagles back within seven points (20-13) a couple minutes later. Whitlow was held in check in the first half, but had a great final 20 minutes, finishing the night with 13 points, two rebounds and an assist. Whitlow ends his Eagle career at No. 17 all-time on the ERAU scoring list with 1,453 points.
 
Back-to-back layups and a subsequent jumper from Shockley-Okeke, with some nice moves on a stifling NSU defense, pulled the Eagles within four at 23-19 with five minutes left. Then after a timeout on an inbound, Dru Nickson passed it three-quarters of the way down the court to a wide open Bracey who was all alone for the dunk to make it 25-21.
 
NSU extended the lead down the stretch to 31-23 at the 1:54 mark, but then a pair of Shockley-Okeke free throws and a big-time three from Jon Alessandro made it a 31-28 game with about a minute to go.
 
The Sharks held a 36-30 halftime lead, and the second half would be more back-and-forth. Whitlow had two early buckets, then Nickson hit a long range three to make it 45-39 NSU. But the Sharks started to pull away not long after. Their press defense held ERAU in check, while a spree of made jumpers eventually made it 58-45 with 10 minutes to play.
 
The lead got up to 66-55 with just five minutes remaining as both sides traded buckets, then Nickson cut the lead to single digits again with another long three ball. Bracey then connected on a pair of shots from the charity stripe, followed by a deep three from Shockley-Okeke which cut the lead even more to five, 68-63 with 2:43 to play.
 
The Eagles started to get into foul trouble down the stretch, but then Shockley-Okeke was fouled on a shot from behind the arc, and made all three free throws to make it a 75-71 game with under a minute to play. But from there, the high-powered Sharks fended off any run from the Eagles, eventually taking it 81-73. 
 
Head coach Steve Ridder picked up win number 781 this season after the Eagles' 22 wins. ERAU, which graduates six seniors, will return a young but exciting core group next season.