DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team played its final non-conference home game on Saturday, using a balanced attack offensively to move past Florida National, 85-64. The No. 6/15 Eagles (7-1) bounced back from their first loss of the season on Tuesday, shooting 53% from the floor on Saturday in the ICI Center, while holding the Conquistadors (1-3) to just 36% from the field.
Sharing the ball was a point of emphasis for the Blue and Gold on Saturday as the team registered a season-high 23 assists on 33 made baskets, and that's exactly how the game started with
Romeo Crouch finding an open
Nick Heard for a triple as ERAU led 3-0 just a few seconds into the contest.
The Eagles also rejected a season-best seven shots, including the first two attempts by FNU in the game.
Nikola Jerotic and
Michael McCalister accounted for five straight points around the 16-minute mark, putting ERAU up 12-8, but a 10-2 run by the visitors over the next three minutes gave the Conquistadors their largest lead of the night at 18-14.
Crouch's fastbreak layup at the 12:30 mark sparked a 16-4 run that included three treys from
David Park, the last of which grew the Blue and Gold lead to 30-22.
Park's last three of the first half came at the 4:34 mark and pushed the Eagle advantage to 39-28, and ERAU took a 46-33 lead into the break thanks to a
Jerry Bracey II coast-to-coast layup right before the horn sounded.
The Eagles enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout the second half, never allowing FNU to get closer than three possessions. Park's fifth and final three-pointer of the evening put ERAU on top 59-48 with 13:18 to play, and Crouch's triple a few moments later ballooned the lead to 14.
Jerotic had a monster second half for the home team, scoring 13 of his career-best 19 points in the closing period. His back-to-back buckets with approximately eight minutes left put the Eagles up 71-52 and the Eagles put things in cruise control the rest of the way, taking their biggest lead of the night on the last bucket of the game, a
David Velasco layup off a
Malcolm Whitlow helper.
Jerotic led all scorers with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Crouch finished with 17 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Park's 15 points tied a career-high, and Whitlow and
Elijah Jenkins each contributed four assists to the ERAU cause.
Embry-Riddle begins Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 1 with a trip to Rollins. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
