STU Head Coach Patrick Gayle
St. Thomas Takes Down Top Ranked Embry-Riddle
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In one of the biggest wins in school history, 22nd ranked St. Thomas (Fla.) went on the road and took down the nation's number one team in NAIA Division II with a 67-63 win over Embry-Riddle (Fla.) on Saturday night in Daytona Beach. Senior guard Floyd Battle scored 24 points to lead the Bobcats (13-4, 6-1) who handed Embry-Riddle (17-2, 6-1) its first home loss and first loss in Sun Conference play.
The win moved St. Thomas into a three-way tie atop The Sun Conference standings. In addition to STU and ERAU, no. 8 Northwood also is 6-1 in league play.
The Bobcats led most of the way in the game dubbed as the NAIA Division II Game of the Week. After four ties and four lead changes to start the game, a three-pointer by Battle gave the Bobcats a 28-27 lead with 3:14 to play in the first half. Battle's three would spark an 8-1 run to end the half with STU leading 36-28.
St. Thomas led the entire second half, stretching its lead to as many as 11 points. The Eagles mounted a comeback to cut the lead to 59-57 with 3:52 to play. A jumper and two made free throws by Battle brought the lead back to seven. Down the stretch, free throws by Demetris Allen and Heberto Guanipa sealed the win for the Bobcats.
Battle's 24 points led all scorers and the guard from Maywood, Ill. was also his team's leading rebounder with nine. Half of Battle's point total came on 4-of-6 shooting from the three point line. He also recorded three assists and three steals.
Senior forward Davorn Bryant came off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Chuckie Becton was the team's only other scorer in double figures with ten points.
Embry-Riddle also had three players in double figures with Dalton Barnes leading the way with 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting. DeForest Carter had 14 points and Rico Saldana added ten.
STU has now won four of the last five overall meetings vs. ERAU and five of the last six game in the series played in Daytona Beach. The loss, just the second of the season, snapped a seven-game win streak and an 13-game home winning streak for the Eagles.
The two teams will play again on February 12 at the Fernandez Family Center on the St. Thomas University campus.