PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Bushnell men's basketball team finished off a 2-1 trip to Arizona on Saturday, pulling out an 87-75 victory over Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
 
The Beacons (3-3) led by 11 points at the intermission, and withstood a second-half surge from the Eagles, who climbed to within a point. Foul trouble plagued the home team as Bushnell scored 22 points at the charity stripe to hang on.
 
Head Coach Eddie Alexander said, "We changed our lineup a bit tonight to give a different look defensively. I thought everyone responded well and when guys came off the bench they brought great energy. It has been a long travel week, so today was more of a grind, but guys gutted out a great road win."
 
Bushnell went deep on Saturday, using a 42-8 advantage in points off the bench, fueled in large part by a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds from Stevie Schlabach.
 
"Stevie was big for us tonight as he came in off the bench," said Alexander. "I am proud of his selflessness in being our six-man tonight. He responded with a stellar game."
 
Schlabach added, "This was a hard-fought win on the road. I believe we showed a lot of maturity tonight when we could have folded."
 
Spencer Hoffman closed out a dominant week down south with 14 points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists as Bushnell out-rebounded the Eagles, 43-31. Five total players scored in double-digits for the Beacons as Kaden Sand scored 17 with Cory Johnson and Luke Smith each posting 11. Smith added five assists.
 
Embry-Riddle (1-4) was led by a game-high 30 points from Dennis Pomazanov.
 
With the non-conference schedule officially in the rear-view mirror, the Beacons will return to action in two weeks, traveling to Portland on December 1 to start Cascade Collegiate Conference action against Warner Pacific University.
 
Coach Alexander said, "We have collectively learned a lot about our team this trip and guys are still learning our expectations. We played a tough non-conference schedule that should bode well as we get into conference after Thanksgiving."