Conference play, the Eagles used an 8-0 run over a three minute period to force overtime and eventually win 79-73. Senior Lenny DiMaria led the way for the host Eagles with 31 points.
Eagles jump out of the gate
From the outset of the game, it did not appear that the Eagles were going to need a late run as they jumped to a 20-5 lead in the opening five minutes. The Eagles hit their first seven field goals and had five assists on those shots, as the Eastern team initially took advantage of the pressure defense of the visiting Knights. Derahn Patrick sparked an 11-2 run for the guests with seven straight points on three consecutive field goals. Another Patrick field goal cut the Eastern lead to 24-20 with just under nine minutes left, and the game was on. The Eagles, who won their last game with just 55 points, continued to play at Neumann's pace and were able to hold off the Knights and went into the halftime break up three at 38-35. Sophomore forward Kevin Raab finished the scoring for the Eagles on a nice tip in with 37 seconds to play.
DiMaria and Matt Malloy each had nine points at the break for the Eagles. Junior Forward Mike Johnson had eight points to go with six assists and four boards. Patrick and Ronnie Fields each had nine for the Knights.
Neumann scored the four points out of the break to take their first lead of the game at 39-38. The Eagles responded wiht five straight points on a pair of foul shots from Johnson and a three pointer from DiMaria. From there, the lead went back and forth as both teams traded four and five point runs to the eleven minute mark. Neumann's DJ Fritz looked to take over the with seven straight points, and helped the Knights to their biggest lead of the game at the eight and a half minute mark.
DiMaria fuels late rally
Out of an Eastern timeout, DiMaria found his way inside to earn four consecutive free throws. The senior hit three of four to cut the lead to five, and the Eagles continued to shine at the other end of the floor. Johnson cut the lead to three with a pair of free throws, and on the next possession, the 6'5" forward threaded a bullet pass to DiMaria who hit the lay-up cut the Neumann lead to 61-60. The Eagles earned another stop, and Johnson powered in inside basket to put the Eagles up with just over five minutes to play.
Fritz, who finished with 18 points on the day, hit a long three from the wing to put the Knights back up, before Johnson answered again off a feed from David Volpe. Down one with two minutes to play Fritz kicked a ball out of a double team to an open Jalon Bransford who knocked down the clutch triple for his only points of the day.
After both teams traded stops, Johnson hit a cutting Malloy for a tough floater in the lane to tie the game at 67. Fritz's shot to win the game just rimmed out with two seconds to play.
Overtime on the line
The Eagles got up early and hit ten of twelve free throws in overtime to earn the final six point win. Eastern Coach Matt Nadelhoffer said of his team's effort, "We knew that the first five minutes of the game were not going to determine the outcome. Neumann has some very talented scorers, and we had our hands full slowing them down tonight. I thought our guys did a great job of changing the pace of the game in the second half, and we had a nice stretch defensively where everything came together. We challenged Mike (Johnson) before the game tonight, and he stepped up with big numbers in crunch time (19 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks). Lenny did a great job finishing around the basket and it was great to see him get to the foul line. We still had too many turnovers, but we found a way to get it done, and that is a great way for us to go into the semester break."
DiMaria added six rebounds and needed only 14 shots to score his 31 points. He hit on nine of ten from the foul line and was 10-14 from the floor with two three pointers. Malloy put together another solid outing with 13 points and six rebounds. Fritz and Patrick both scored 18 to lead the Knights. They were joined in double figures by Fields with 13.
The Eagles (4-3, 3-1) are off for Finals and Christmas and will return to action at Widener on January 3rd. The Knights (5-2, 3-1) Will take on Richard Stockton College at the Messiah Tournament on Friday night.
