The Eastern Coaches knew playing Carthage in the opening game of the Buzz Ridl Classic would present a challenge for their squad. The fleet-footed Wisconsin side took advantage of some early match-ups and jumped to an 11 point lead six minutes into the game. They then held off the Eagles for an 85-69 win in a fast-paced game.

Eastern guard Ty Coleman did not start the game for the Eagles, but made an impact shortly after his entry. In the opening half he connected on  5-5 shooting from the field for 11 of his game-high 26 points. Coleman hit a jumper with just under four minutes to ply in the half to cut the Eastern deficit to 30-28. Carthage called timeout and scored 13 straight points over the last three and a half minutes to  pull out to a 43-28 half-time lead.

Carthage standout Trey Bowens lived up to his first name with four first half three-pointers on the way to fifteen first half points. Steve Djurickovic, the son of Carthage's legendary coach Bosko Djurickovic, scored 10 of his 24 points on the game in the first half. He looked like he had been running the system for years as he led the Carthage attack in his first collegiate game. The Eastern coaching staff spoke very highly of the first year player saying, "He is going to be very good for them. He could play at a lot of different places, and he is going to be a force in Division III basketball."

Down fifteen at the half, the Eagles traded baskets through the second half, but were unable to cut into the Carthage advantage. Senior Forward Mike Johnson scored 11  points on 5-7 shooting to join Coleman in double figures for the Eagles.

Eastern returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm in the consolation game of the Buzz Ridl Classic at Westminster. Carthage advances to the Championship Game.