After falling short in Thursday's high-scoring game at Benedictine University, the Golden Eagles rebounded to defeat Embry-Riddle University, on Saturday night, to salvage a split. The Redhawks used a late second-half run to pull away from the Golden Eagles, on their way to a 97-82 win. But the Golden Eagles answered the call by defeating Embry-Riddle University, 83-80 to close the trip. The men's basketball team improves to 1-4 in Cal Pac play, and 3-13 overall.
Benedictine def. La Sierra, 97-82
Trailing by just five points at the half, the Golden Eagles cut the lead to 58-60, with 11 minutes remaining in the game. Benedictine then used a 17-2 run over the next five minutes, extending the lead to 77-60. The Golden Eagles fought back with an 18-8 run of their own, cutting the Redhawks lead to seven points, but that would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get, as they were forced to foul down the stretch. The big difference in the game proved to be Benedictine's 27-11 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Junior Saladine Ganda had a career night in the loss, with 20 points and 15 rebounds. DJ Everage led the team with 23 points and five assists, with Kyle Hamilton shooting 8-of-13, for 18 points. Kenny Lewis also tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the game.
La Sierra def. Embry-Riddle, 83-80
The Golden Eagles, in search of their first Cal Pac win of the season, were able to survive foul trouble and hang on for the victory over the Eagles. The Eagles were flying high, having just handed the University of Antelope Valley their first conference loss of the season, on Thursday night. But a determined La Sierra squad was able to overcome second-half foul trouble and a late ERAU charge, for their first Cal Pac win.
After the Eagles cut the lead to 39-34, four minutes into the second half of play, La Sierra put together a 12-1 run, extending their lead to 51-35, their largest of the game, with 12:35 remaining. But foul trouble quickly swung momentum in the direction of the home team, who took advantage of the fact that three of La Sierra's starters sat out a minimum of five minutes, having picked up their fourth foul, two of whom (Ganda and Everage) eventually fouled out in the final minutes of play.
The team, who has struggled from the foul line all season, connected on 10-of-12 free throws in the final minute of play, to secure the victory. The Eagles did have a shot at the buzzer, to tie the game, but the three-point attempt fell short of the rim as time expired.
The Golden Eagles used a balanced attack with a total of five players scoring in double figures, led by Lewis who scored 23 points, with the help of 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Lewis also had a team-high seven rebounds and three steals in the victory. Everage added 14 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Hamilton scored 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocks. Duane Darrett Jr. was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, to finish with 11 points, while Ganda shot 5-for-10, for 10 points and six rebounds.
The team will look to bring the momentum home, for their next two games, this weekend, versus the University of California – Merced (1-4, 8-9), on Thursday evening, and Simpson University (5-0, 11-5), on Saturday night.
