Men's Hoops Falls to Embry-Riddle, 72-53, at Land of Magic Classic

DAYTONA, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's basketball team downed visiting Bridgewater State University, 72-53, on Thursday evening at the Land of Magic Classic.

Embry-Riddle improves to 7-5 with the victory while Bridgewater falls to 3-6.

Senior forward Ray Graham (Deland, Fla.) registered a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles.  Graham knocked down 10 of 13 field goal attempts.  Junior guard Jeremiah Applin (Dayton, Ohio) chipped in with 14 points, three rebounds and three steals.

Trailing 18-13 midway through the first half, Embry-Riddle used an 11-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish.  The Eagles led 30-24 at the break and got up by as many as 23 points in the second stanza.

Embry-Riddle connected on 46% (28-61) of its field goal attempts and knocked down 7 of 23 (30%) three-pointers.  The Eagles limited the Bears to 32% (20-62) shooting including 0-for-17 from behind the arc.

BSU senior forward Samuel Johnson (Chelmsford, Mass.) paced the Bears with 13 points and five rebounds.  Junior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) added seven points, five boards, four assists and two steals.

Bridgewater opens Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play at Fitchburg State University on January 7th (3:00 PM).  Embry-Riddle hosts Mary Washington tomorrow at 6:00 PM.