by By Michael Pierce | @mepierce01, ERAU Athletics
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – DeForest Carter (Seminole Tribe of Florida) and Joseph Gonzalez each scored 18 points to lead the second-ranked Embry-Riddle men’s basketball team to a 72-65 win at Northwood on Tuesday night. With the victory, ERAU improves to 24-1 on the year and 12-1 in conference play, which guarantees the Eagles a first-round bye in The Sun Conference Tournament later this month. The Seahawks dropped to 14-10, 6-7 in conference.
Carter was 6-of-10 from the field and added three steals and three assists while Gonzalez made 7-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, in just 23 minutes off the bench. Cesar Pastrana posted his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds and Dalton Barnes contributed 11 points, six boards and a game-high five assists.
Chris Solomon led the Seahawks with 18 points and Fred Mattison notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Northwood got off to the better start, opening up a seven-point lead (16-9) in the first eight minutes of the game. Barnes knocked down a pair of free throws just before the halfway mark of the first half to cut it to a one-point deficit (17-16) and Gonzalez connected on a jumper to push the Eagles ahead, 18-17, with 7:51 to go in the half.
The lead changed hands four more times in the next 90 seconds, with a Gonzalez three putting ERAU in front for good with 6:25 left before halftime (23-21). The Blue and Gold finished the first half on a 6-0 spurt to widen the gap to 34-27 at the break.
Carter and Gonzalez accounted for over 70 percent of the Eagle scoring output in the first period, combining for 13 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Less than a minute into the second half the Eagles increased their lead to double-digits for the first time, as Daniel Kiesling drilled a three to make it a 38-27 game. ERAU was in full control from then on as lead hovered between seven and 13 points for most of the rest of the contest, though the Blue and Gold briefly extended the margin to 15 (71-56) on a Gonzalez jumper with 2:06 to play. The Seahawks scored nine of the final 10 points of the game but never got close enough to cause the Eagle fans to feel concerned, as Embry-Riddle cruised to the 72-65 win.
Embry-Riddle lands back at home on Thursday to host Southeastern for the first game of a four-game home stand. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
