LAKELAND, Fla. – Despite a strong first-half performance and several late-game pushes, Embry-Riddle men's basketball fell short at RV Florida Southern on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped an 89-83 setback to the Moccasins inside Jenkins Field House in Lakeland, Fla.

ERAU managed to carry a five-point advantage into halftime after a surge down the stretch, but FSC outscored the Eagles by 11 in the second half to swing the momentum and secure a big Sunshine State Conference win.

RECORDS
Embry-Riddle: 8-7 (5-3 SSC)
Florida Southern: 14-4 (6-2 SSC)
 
GAME NOTES

• Embry-Riddle is 9-16 against Florida Southern, going 4-6 in the last 10 meetings.
• The last two meetings between ERAU and FSC have been decided by six points.

KEY PERFORMERS

Embry-Riddle

• Jared Berry – 23 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl
• Dawson Barr – 20 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast
• Jack Klinger – 19 pts, 5 reb, 3 blk

Florida Southern

• Amare Miller – 19 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk
• Charlie Dalton – 14 pts, 5 reb
• Elijah Walsh – 14 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

• An interior score for Jack Klinger and a deep-range knockdown from Dawson Barr helped to level the game at 5-5 early on.
• Florida Southern managed to pull the game into its hands with a 20-12 advantage over the next five minutes.
• A pair of long-range buckets from Barr helped keep Embry-Riddle within reach and a four-point score before FSC went on to take an 11-point lead halfway through.
• The Eagles went on a huge momentum-shifting run down the stretch, outscoring the Moccasins 22-9 to flip the score to a 42-40 edge with less than two minutes to play.
• FSC knocked down a big three in response to swiftly take a one-point lead.
• Berry scored six unanswered in the final 50 seconds of play to lift the Eagles to a 48-43 lead at the break, punctuated by a buzzer-beating three to close the half.
• ERAU edged out FSC in the half with 47.4% (18-of-38) shooting from the field while including 50% (6-of-12) from three and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
• Berry led with an opening 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting followed by 14 from Barr with a 4-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. 

Second Half

• The Moccasins came out fighting in the second half, with an 11-1 run out of the break to lead by five.
• Embry-Riddle managed to pull within one-possession with scores coming from Logan Lewis, Barr, and Berry.
• Florida Southern would go on a 10-0 spurt due to some untimely turnovers and shooting struggles from Embry-Riddle to lead 68-55 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
• Four points from Landen Harwood and five points from Chalier Torres on top of three FSC turnovers helped Embry-Riddle gain momentum late in the half, erasing a double-digit deficit to just a two-possession score with less than 8 minutes to play.
• ERAU continued to fight and claw to remain close with FSC down the stretch as Klinger led the way inside the paint with six points to cut the deficit to one.
• Another four points from Klinger and a three-pointer from Barr kept the game within a two-point reach, however a 6-1 scoring stretch from the hosts thwarted a momentum shift.
• Berry would finish the game scoring Embry-Riddle's final five points with a three-pointer at the 30-second mark to cut the deficit to 85-83.
• Unfortunately for Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern took care of the opportunities on the foul line with four unanswered points to seal the win.
• Embry-Riddle made just 12 field goals in the second half, shooting for 38.7% as the Moccasins managed to outscore the Eagles 46-35.
• Klinger led the way for ERAU going 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. 

INSIDE THE STATS

• Embry-Riddle finished the game shooting 43.5% (30-of-69) from the field, 33.3% (8-of-24) from three, and 88.2% (15-of-17) from the foul line.
• Berry scored 23 to lead Embry-Riddle, marking his third straight game with 22 or more points.
• Berry also led with seven rebounds to help the Eagles hold a 44-36 edge in rebounding.
• Barr scored 20 with a 5-of-8 clip from beyond the arc.
• Klinger went 8-for-10 from the field to match his career-best of 19 points, adding five boards and a game-leading three blocks.
• Klinger has been consistent on the floor, shooting at least 70% from the field for seven straight games.
• 82 combined points were scored in the paint between both teams with Embry-Riddle scoring 42.
• Turnovers were key as FSC produced 21 points on 17 ERAU turnovers while the Eagles managed to produce just seven points on nine miscues from the Moccasins.

UP NEXT

Embry-Riddle returns home to host Tampa on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET inside the ICI Center.