DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite trailing by 14 points early on, Eckerd rallied to pull within six points at halftime. However, Embry-Riddle shot nearly 68 percent in the second half to distance themselves as the Eckerd men's basketball team fell, 106-78, to the Eagles Saturday night at the ICI Center.
HOW IT ENDED
Final: Embry-Riddle 106, Eckerd 78
Records: Eckerd 6-9 (2-5 SSC); Embry-Riddle 13-3 (5-3 SSC)
KEY MOMENTS
- Embry-Riddle opened the game with a quick 7-2 run, but a jumper in the lane by Kristiyan Stavrev ignited a six-point run as Eckerd responded to take an 8-7 lead. The Eagles answered with a 13-2 run to take a 10-point lead with 13:50 left to the half.
- The Eagles' lead fluctuated between six and 11 points over the next seven minutes before pushing out to a 39-25 lead at the 5:42 mark. A jumper by Travis Bianco two minutes later started an 8-0 stretch as Eckerd pulled within six points before entering the half trailing 48-42.
- After the teams traded baskets to start the second half, Admir Radoncic trimmed the deficit to five at 55-50 with a layup at the 16:10 mark. However, the Eagles followed with 11 straight points to go up 66-52. Eckerd briefly cut down ERAU's lead to 12 points with just under 12 minutes left. Embry-Riddle then answered with four straight 3-pointers, and the Eagles controlled the rest of the game for a 106-78 win.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Stavrev led Eckerd with a career-high 21 points while Malcolm Whitlow and Radoncic rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
- Bianco and Daniel Gonzalez led EC on the boards with eight rebounds each. Gonzalez's eight rebounds were a career-high.
- The Tritons shot 55.6 percent in the first half but dropped to 36.7 percent in the second half compared to Embry-Riddle's 51.2 percent in the first half and 67.9 in the second.
- Eckerd distributed 21 assists, their second-best mark of the season. Whitlow had five while Stavrev and Gonzalez each had a season-high four.
UP NEXT
Eckerd looks to bounce back on Wednesday as they return home against No. 14 Florida Southern at 7:30 PM.
