DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Embry-Riddle men's basketball tipped-off the regular season in dominant fashion on Monday night, soaring past Southern Wesleyan in an 89-59 win inside the ICI Center. ERAU remains unbeaten against SWU, meeting for the first time since 2006.
The Eagles (1-0) finished 39-for-70 from the field and built much of its production inside, scoring 62 points in the paint while holding the Warriors (0-1) to 24-for-65 shooting. ERAU also doubled SWU on the glass, 52-26, with a 17-9 edge in offensive rebounds and a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points.
Sebastian Kramar led the Eagles with 24 points, seven assists and four steals, while
Jack Klinger added 10 points and nine rebounds.
First Half
Embry-Riddle struck first with a slam from Klinger about 90 seconds in before falling to a 6-2 deficit. ERAU recovered from the deficit as Klinger tied the game at 6-6 with a layup, then added a tip-in for an 8-6 lead before Kramar,
Logan Lewis and
Landen Harwood helped stretch the advantage to 15-8.
The Eagles built much of its offense inside, scoring 30 points in the paint, while its work on the glass produced 11 offensive rebounds and a 29-16 rebounding edge in the half. After Southern Wesleyan pulled within four late, the Blue and Gold finished the first half with double-digit separation. In the final 3:28 of the half, Kramar made two free throws and a layup, Harwood posted five points in transition, and
Relja Vranesevic added a pair of layups, including one at the buzzer to close the half with a 39-26 lead. ERAU rolled into halftime with 17-of-40 shooting and 12 points from Kramar followed by nine from Harwood and six from both Klinger and Vranesevic.
Second Half
After Southern Wesleyan scored at 18:52 to make it 41-28 early, ERAU answered with an 8-0 run, with Kramar scoring twice before Klinger and Lewis added fast-break buckets. The Eagles kept that stretch going after two SWU free throws, getting a Klinger layup, and threes from
Demetris Phillips and Kramar to reach 57-30 at 15:10 while completing a run of seven straight made field goals.
The Blue and Gold also held a 23-10 rebounding edge in the half and closed with a 9-0 push from 3:38 to 1:40, capped by
Walker Jackson's fast-break layup off a
Trey Chisolm assist. Embry-Riddle controlled the second half by outscoring Southern Wesleyan 50-33, shooting 22-of-30 from the field and finishing the game with 30-point advantage. The Eagles went 5-of-11 from three-point range and outscored the Warriors 32-20 in the paint.
Inside the Statistics
- The Eagles finished shooting 55.7% (39-of-70) from the field, 25% (6-of-24) from three, and 50% (5-of-10) from the charity stripe.
- ERAU has won three-straight season openers and have only lost one since the 2002-03 season.
- The Blue and Gold produced 32 points off the bench and scored 16 points off 12 Warrior turnovers.
- Kramar led the way with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting, adding seven assists and four steals.
- Klinger nearly posted a double-double with 10 points and nine boards while going 5-of-7 from the field.
- Lewis added 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists with Harwood totaling nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
- Phillips added eight points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
Up Next
Embry-Riddle is set to host the 2026 Bahama House Shootout this weekend, facing off against Morehouse on Friday at 3:00 p.m. ET in the ICI Center.
