ST. PETERSBURG, Florida -
Malcolm Whitlow made the most of his first start of the season in leading the Embry-Riddle men's basketball team to a 67-46 victory over his former team on Wednesday. Whitlow scored a season-high 28 points in pacing the Eagles (13-4, 6-2 SSC) to their third consecutive victory over Eckerd (2-10, 0-9 SSC), as the visitors had a huge second-half effort at the McArthur Center.
The first half featured some less-than-stellar offense as the Eagles managed just 20 points, their lowest total in a half since Feb. 10, 2016 (coincidentally also on the road against the Tritons), and went scoreless over the final seven-plus minutes. However, the Eagles were only down 24-20 due to the Tritons' similar shooting struggles.
Embry-Riddle did score the first four points of the second period to tie things up at 24-24, but the offensive struggles from the first half seemed to have carried over as the score was just 35-32 Eckerd with 11 minutes remaining, but that's when the sophomore from Nebraska started to take over.
Romeo Crouch's three at the 10:07 mark tied the game for the final time, and then it was Whitlow with a pair of free throws and a triple to put the Eagles up 40-37. After a couple of defensive stops, Crouch found
Cj Henagan beyond the arc and the Kentucky native buried his shot to stretch the lead to six with 7:20 on the clock.
Henagan and
Danny Sully each made a layup before Whitlow's fastbreak layup with five minutes to go after a Crouch steal had the Blue and Gold up double-digits, 49-39.
An Eagle stop, one of many in the game, especially in the second half, led to another Whitlow three-pointer, and when Henagan connected on a trey with 4:25 to play, it all but sealed things for the visitors as they led, 55-41.
ERAU finished the game hitting its last seven shots from the floor, ending the half with 47 points, compared to just 22 for the Tritons.
Eckerd's 46 points was the lowest opponent total allowed by the Eagles since they held Ave Maria to 34 on Feb. 4, 2015 in their final NAIA season. ERAU also owned the boards to the tune of a 42-24 advantage.
Whitlow added five steals, four rebounds, and three assists to his 28 points, while Henagan finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Crouch had nine points, six boards, three steals, and two helpers, and
Jon Alessandro added five points, and eight rebounds
Embry-Riddle returns to the ICI Center this Saturday, Jan. 15 to take on Palm Beach Atlantic for a 6 p.m. tip.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball season is presented by Daytona Kia.
