by By Michael Pierce, ERAU Athletics
AVE MARIA, Fla. – Led by Cesar Pastrana‘s 14 points and 14 rebounds, the second-ranked Embry-Riddle men’s basketball team easily defeated Ave Maria by a score of 56-34 on Wednesday night, running the Eagles’ win streak to five games. The Blue and Gold now stand at 22-1 on the year, 10-1 in conference play, while the Gyrenes slip to 9-14, 2-10 in the league.
ERAU was dominant defensively, holding the Gyrenes to just 14 field goals and four free throws. The Blue and Gold outrebounded Ave Maria 42-26 and forced 14 turnovers on the evening. The 34 points allowed set a program record for the fewest ever points given up in a conference game.
Pastrana was efficient, hitting 7-of-9 from the field to account for his 14 points, while Joseph Gonzalez chipped in 14 points in 19 minutes off the bench. DeForest Carter (Seminole Tribe of Florida) added 11 points to go along with a team-high five assists.
Exor Torres was the only Gyrene in double-figures with 10, and he also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots. Jelling Bonner added nine points and Johnny Minervino contributed eight points and four rebounds.
Both teams started slowly, with ERAU holding a 3-2 lead four minutes into the game. The Blue and Gold went on a 14-3 spurt to pull ahead 15-5 with 12:26 left in the half, and the Eagles never trailed for the rest of the contest.
With 6:19 to go in the first, AMU had cut the lead to just four points (19-15), but a three from Gonzalez a minute later sparked a 9-2 run to put the Eagles back ahead by 11 (28-17) with 90 seconds left before halftime. Embry-Riddle went into the break with a comfortable 28-19 advantage.
The Eagles came out of the locker room and dominated the second half, holding Ave Maria to just 15 points on 7-of-22 shooting (31.8%) while outrebounding the home team 23-11.
Pastrana got the scoring starting in the second period with a layup less than a minute in. The senior would go on to score 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
Just past the halfway point of the period, Jason Powell knocked down a jumper that pushed the Eagle lead up to 20 points for the first time in the game (45-25). Dalton Barnes converted a three-point play to give the Blue and Gold its largest lead of the game at 56-30 with just over four minutes to play. Although ERAU didn’t score any points after that, the Eagle defense allowed just four points over the game’s final eight minutes as Embry-Riddle sailed to a 56-34 victory.
The Eagles return home for a Sun Conference battle against No. 24 Warner on Saturday, Feb. 7. That game, which is slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff, has been selected by the NAIA as the National Game of the Week.
