Eastern University Men's Basketball used a 19-1 run midway through the first half to pull away from Delaware Valley College on the way to a 86-69 win. Senior guard Matt Flanagan led Eastern with 16 points.

Junior center Daryl Leegwater, who finished the evening with 14 points, scored the first basket, and Flanagan hit his first shot to lift the Eagles to a quick 4-0 lead. The Aggies' Jason Siept scored the first eight points for the hosts to help the Aggies to an 8-7 lead. The visiting Eagles quickly took the lead back for good on a pair of Danny Miller free throws, but the game remained close until just past midway through the half.

With 9:09 showing on the clock, a Delaware Valley three-pointer closed the Eastern lead to 17-15. From that point on, the visitors exploded for 19 points in just over five minutes of clock time. Eastern's pressure defense created transition and free throw opportunities on the way to a 36-16 lead. Leegwater scored the first five points of the run on a three point play on a turnaround jump-shot, and an inside basket.

After a Mike Johnson jumper and an Aggie free throw, the Eastern bench scored the next twelve points.  Derek Wright earned a pair of trips to the foul line and hit three of four. Miller, who finished with 14 points, then hit two straight baskets. Chris Myers hit a three-pointer in a half court set, and Joe Manzo finished the run with a fast break basket on a nice pass from Flanagan.

The Eagles finished the half up 42-25. Leegwater scored nine points to lead the Eagles into the break. The deep Eastern bench outscored their counterparts from Delaware Valley 24-11. 

The second half saw both sides exchange runs, but the Aggies were never able to close the gap to under 14 points, and the Eagles three times built 23 point leads. Mike Johnson, who finished with a team-high nine rebounds in just over 19 minutes of game action, showed good offensive initiative with four baskets early in the second half to finish his night with ten points.

The Eagles slowed the tempo to ice the game over the last seven minutes of the game. Coach Nadelhoffer said of his team's effort, "We really liked the tempo tonight. Our defensive pressure provided a lot of scoring chances for us in the first half, and we got some really good contributions from several different players. We still did not shoot that well from three, but that can be expected after the long break."

The 2-3 Eagles will look to build on this evening's win as they take on a pair of top NAIA teams in Hawaii. Nadelhoffer continued, "It was great to see Joe [Manzo] moving better and knock down some shots. We still had too many turnovers, but we will continue to work on that. We are looking forward to a great trip together."

The Eagles take on Montana Tech in their first game in Hawaii.