DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle men’s basketball team (28-5) came back from a seven-point half time deficit to edge 11th-ranked Northwood 55-53 in the championship game of The Sun Conference Tournament at Embry-Riddle’s ICI Center on Saturday. The win continued the Eagles unbeaten streak in conference tournament games at the ICI Center and gave them an automatic bid the NAIA Division II National Tournament, Mar. 10-16.
Both teams employed the long-range shot to get their respective offenses going at the start of the game. Eric Lorenzi and Danny Krazit each hit three-pointers on the Eagles’ first two possessions and the Seahawks answered with the treys from Lester Hunte and Melvin Calhoun.
With the score tied at 6-6, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to take a 13-6 lead and maintained a six-point advantage until the 9:30 mark when Hunte’s third three of the half made it a three-point game. The Eagles struggled offensively in the latter part of the half, connecting on just two of six attempts from the field. They were also plagued by miscues, turning the ball over five times during that stretch. After leading 23-19 with 5:55 to play in the half, the Eagles only scored two points the remainder of the half. On the other side of the ball, Northwood made five of their last 14 shots, including three three-pointers to take a 32-25 lead at the break.
Coming out of the halftime break, Lester Hunte continued to lead the Seahawk offense and Northwood built its lead to 11 points just two minutes into the second half and appeared poised to take over the game. But the Eagles had a different idea. At the 16:37 mark Eric Lorenzi drilled his second three-pointer of the night to start the Eagle comeback.
Embry-Riddle steadily chipped away at the Northwood lead and made it a two-point game (38-36) with 12:35 left to play. Jeremy Barr’s lay-up built the Seahawk lead back up to four, but on the next ERAU possession, Ray Graham hit his only three of the night to make it a one-point game. After Hunte missed a lay-up on the next Northwood attempt, David Butler grabbed the rebound and Brandon Caputo found Glenn Dalcourt on the left side and Dalcourt nailed a long-range shot of his own to knot the score at 42-42 with 8:58 left to play.
The Eagles and the Seahawks each traded baskets over the next two and a half minutes, resulting in the sixth tie of the ballgame (46-46) at the 6:39 mark. The next possession saw the Seahawks get the ball to Barr, but he turned it over and once again the Eagles found Dalcourt, whose third three of the night gave the Blue and Gold their first lead since the 4:12 mark of the first half, 49-46.
Another three, this time by Danny Krazit, gave the Eagles a 52-48 advantage, but a pair of controversial foul calls against the Eagles sent Patrick Horstmann to the free throw line and he converted on all four attempts to pull the Seahawks within one (54-53) with 46 seconds left in the game.
Northwood got Butler to turn the ball over on the Eagles’ next possession, but Butler recovered to block Hunte’s lay-up attempt. Graham grabbed the ensuing rebound, but the ball was knocked away and recovered by Northwood’s Melvin Calhoun. Calhoun found his way to the basket, but once again Butler, The Sun Confernece Defensive Player of the year, was on hand to block Calhoun’s shot and after corralling the rebound, Butler was fouled by Hunte with 18 seconds left.
Butler made good on one of two from the charity stripe, leaving the door open for Northwood to win the game with a three. Jay Duncan’s long range attempt missed the mark but Hunte managed to collect the rebound to give the Seahawks one last chance. However, his attempt from the top of the arc with two seconds left was contested by Eric Lorenzi and Butler came up with game-high 10th rebound to seal the win.
Butler, Hunte and Barr were named to the All-Tournament team along with Warner’s Derell Henderson and Florida Memorial’s George Gray, while Lorenzi, who averaged 21 points in three tournament games took home tournament MVP honors.
While none of the usual frontrunners had remarkable performances for the Eagles, they got a balanced effort as every player that took the floor got into the scorebook. Lorenzi led the way with 12 points and six boards, while Butler tallied eight points and four blocks to go with 10 rebounds.
Hunte led all scorers with 21 points as the Seahawks move to 27-6 on the year.
Northwood will join the Eagles in the national tournament field in Point Lookout, Mo. as their No. 11 ranking in the final NAIA national poll affords them an at-large bid. The tournament begins on Mar. 10. Game times and pairings are yet to be determined.