DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Thomas University men's basketball team opened play at the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout last night falling to former Sun Conference foe Embry-Riddle 116-88.
 
The win for the Eagles was a revenge victory of sorts for ERAU after the Night Hawks spoiled the squad's quest for perfection in the 2014-15 season.  Thomas took the 77-70 victory in Thomasville on January 20, 2015.
 
Thomas, who has now lost five straight, shot the ball extremely well from the field (44.8%) and from the behind the arch (46.7%), but it was the lock down defense and transition points off turnovers by the Eagles that doomed the Night Hawks.
 
Embry-Riddle charged out on an 8-0 run to open the contest.  Sophomore Javoris Cooks stopped the run with a three from the right corner with 16:13 left in the opening half.  Over the next 11 minutes, the Eagles would gain an 18 point, 41-23 lead over the Night Hawks.
 
Heading into the intermission, the Night Hawks would trail 53-32.
 
ERAU pushed the tempo in the second half outscoring Thomas 21-7 in the first five minutes of play.  The Night Hawks continued to stay in the hunt as they cut ERAU's advantage to 16 points (90-74) when Adonai Rogers netted both free throws after being fouled by ERAU's Dalton Barnes.
 
The Eagles broke the 100 point mark with 5:50 left in the competition and pulled away for the 116-88 victory at the buzzer.
 
Cooks led Thomas with 22 points while Mike Lyons (13), Rogers (11), and TJ Rines (11) were the only other Night Hawks in double figures. ERAU won the rebound battle bringing down 46 to Thomas' 35 rebounds.  Embry-Riddle's Ognjen Miljkovic led all scorers with 25 points in 24 minutes of play.
 
The Night Hawks now face Texas A&M Kingsville in the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout's consolation game today in both programs' first ever meeting.  Tipoff from the ICI Center is slated for 2:00 p.m.
 
By the Numbers:
4 – Night Hawks in double figures in scoring
7 – Game high total of rebounds by Mike Lyons
17 – Turnovers by Night Hawks
22 – Points scored by TU's scoring leader Javoris Cooks
35 – Total rebounds by the Night Hawks
88 – Points scored by Thomas
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU men's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.