Box Score DAYTONA BEACH - Florida Southern saw its two-game winning streak come to a halt here Wednesday evening as Embry-Riddle scored 56 points in both halves en route to posting a 112-91 victory over the Moccasins in non-conference action at the ICI Center.
With the loss, the Moccasins fall to 7-8 on the season, while Embry-Riddle improves to 10-2.
Wednesday's match-up featured two teams that combined to win 71 games last season as Florida Southern won a school record 36 games and took home the Division II National Championship, while Embry-Riddle won a school record 35 games and fell in the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament.
The 112 points allowed by the Mocs is tied for the eighth most points allowed in school history and the most since allowing 121 points in a 121-117 double overtime setback at LIU-Brooklyn on Jan. 2, 1982.
"It was one of those nights. We were outplayed and really didn't guard well tonight," Moccasin head coach Mike Donnelly said. "They outhustled us on both ends of the floor, but the one thing I liked was that we stayed together as a team. That was something we weren't doing earlier in the season, so that is a positive."
The Eagles, who are in their second year of transitioning from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and are in their first year as a provisional member of the Sunshine State Conference, shot 50 percent from the field and 59 percent from the 3-point line in earning the win and snapping FSC's two-game winning streak.
ERAU's win, which was the 650th career victory for Eagles head coach Steve Ridder, was keyed by a combined 49 points and 23 rebounds from the Eagles inside duo of Ognjen Miljkovic and Joseph Gonzalez. Miljkovic, who is a transfer from Eastern Washington, finished the night with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Gonzalez had 22 points and 10 boards in the win. ERAU held a 53-30 advantage on the glass.
Junior guard Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.) led the way offensively for the Mocs as he scored 21 points, including 16 of them in the first half. In addition to Volovic, senior guard Dominique Williams (Haines City, Fla.) added 16 points and is now one point shy of becoming the 40th Moccasin to score 1,000 career points.
The third double digit scorer for the Mocs was senior guard Dylan Travis (Omaha, Neb.) as he tallied 12 points and added four boards and five assists.
Junior guard Trey Moore (Omaha, Neb.) added nine points, while sophomore forward R.J. June (Sanford, Fla.) and redshirt sophomore forward Stephen Turner (McCordsville, Fla.) each had eight points in the loss.
After trailing 56-46 at the half, the Mocs opened the second half on a 9-5 run to pull within 61-55 following a lay-up by Travis with 17:49 left in the game. The Eagles, though, would respond with a 25-12 run to push its lead to 86-67 with 10:52 remaining. The run was keyed by 10 points from Miljkovic.
The Mocs would make another run as they scored eight of the next 10 points, including capping the run with a trey by Williams with 8:37 left to pull the Mocs within 88-75.
ERAU would answer FSC's run with a 12-5 run, including topping the century mark on a trey by Reed Ridder with 5:02 remaining. The Mocs would score six consecutive points to pull within 100-86 with 4:11 left, but would get no closer the remainder of the game as the Eagles scored 12 of the final 17 points to seal the 21-point victory.
The Mocs finished the night shooting 43 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line. The Mocs, who lead Division in made 3-pointers this season, added to that total on Wednesday as they hit 10 in the loss.
Along with Miljkovic and Gonzalez, four other Eagles finished in double figures as Dillon Graham had 17, while Dalton Barnes added 14 points, Ridder had 13 points and Daniel Kiesling finished with 10 points in the victory.
After scoring the game's first points on a dunk by freshman forward Jarel Spellman (Richmond, Va.), the Mocs watched the Eagles score 17 of the next 22 points to take a 17-7 lead just six minutes into the game.
The Mocs, though, would respond with a 10-4 run capped by a Volovic lay-up to pull within 21-17 with 11:36 left in the opening half. ERAU would answer with a 20-11 run to take a 41-28 lead with 6:36 remaining in the half.
After five straight points by the Mocs dropped the Eagles lead to 41-33, ERAU would use a 14-6 run to push out to a 54-39 advantage. The Mocs would score seven of the half's final nine points to go into the locker room trailing 56-46 at the half.
Miljkovic and Gonzelez combined for 27 points and 11 rebounds in the first half as Miljkovic had 14 points and seven boards and Gonzalez added 13 points and four rebounds.
"They (ERAU) were very physical, strong and quick," the Mocs coach added.
The Mocs had 11 turnovers and forced ERAU into 12 turnovers and both teams combined for 43 assists as FSC had 18, while the Eagles dished out 25 assists.
Both teams were also strong from the free throw line as they combined to shoot 66 free throws on the night as each team was whistled for 23 fouls each on the night. FSC finished 23-for-30 (76.7 percent) at the line, while ERAU was 27-for-36 (75 percent) at the line.
The Mocs will look to rebound on Saturday, Jan. 9 as they return home to Jenkins Field House to face 12th-ranked Eckerd in a 7:30 p.m. SSC match-up. Eckerd improved to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in the SSC following its 70-60 win Wednesday at home against Nova Southeastern.
"Hopefully, we can put this game behind us and get ready to face a very good Eckerd team on Saturday," said Donnelly. "It will be a big game for us on Saturday."
