Eastern University Men's Basketball dropped a close decision to a strong Walsh University Team. The side from Ohio used a strong run in the opening minutes of the second half to emerge with 98-89 win.

The Eagles jumped out to a strong start and forged a seven point lead late in the half before a late run by the Cavaliers closed the Eastern lead to 49-46 at the break. Jason Reels and Matt Flanagan each scored 11 points in the opening half. Assistant Coach Ryan Livingston said of his team's first half, "We shot the ball very well, and took care of the ball in a very high-paced game. We had to shoot the ball well to counter their size, which gave us problems inside." Walsh featured a pair of Brazilian interior players listed at 7 foot and 6-10. Livingston commented "Next to them, Daryl [Leegwater] looked small."

The critical possessions of the game came early in the second half as the Cavaliers forced the Eagles into a few turnovers and missed shots and were able to continue scoring on a 100 point pace. The largest Walsh advantage came midway through the second period with an 11 point lead. The Eagles made several runs to close the gap, but the experienced Cavaliers made their free throws and took care of the ball down the stretch to escape with a nine point win.

Livingston commented on the game, "We were never out of the game, but we were going to have to play a really clean game the entire way through to beat a team with that much size and experience. We put together some very good basketball today, but they took advantage when we hit a rough patch, and we were never able to get back the lead. This game will help us as we move into the second part of the season."

Flanagan again led the Eagles with 15 points on 6-9 shooting. Reels finished the game with 13 points. They were joined in double figures by Mike Johnson with 12 and Eric Spence with 10 off the bench.

The Eagles will visit Pearl Harbor tomorrow morning before returning home for Christmas Break.