Eastern Men's Basketball battled the Alvernia College Crusaders, but stumbled late in a 76-66 loss in Reading. Danny Miller led the Eagles with 17 points on the afternoon.

The Eagles trailed much of the opening half, and were down 35-23 with three and a half minutes to go in the half. Matt Flanagan beat the shot clock with a tough three-pointer to spark a 13-5 run to close out the first half. It looked as though the Crusaders would take a seven point advantage into the break when Terrence Shawell finished a thirteen footer with just over five seconds on the clock, but Mike Johnson hit a long three-pointer as time expired to cut the deficit to 40-36.

Miller scored 13 points before the break as the Eagles looked to pound the ball inside. Eastern finished the half 3-3 from the foul line. The Crusaders were led by Shawell's 12 points at the break. Jason Reels forced Shawell to hit tough shots, but the junior still managed to connect on 5-10. Tyrone Bradley had 11 of his 13 points at the break.

The Eagles cut the deficit to 41-38 after Volpe answered a Shawell free throw to start the half. An 11-4 run that included 7 Shawell points boosted the Alvernia lead back to twelve with ten and a half minutes to play.

Brent Williams sparked a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to give the Eagles their only lead of the game. Williams secured an offensive rebound of a missed second free throw and stuck in his second second-chance basket of the game. Williams then stripped a ball clean and from the ground fired ahead to David Volpe who made the lay-up to cut the Alvernia lead to 54-47.

The Eagles continued to pressure their hosts and forced a series of turnovers. Jason Reels tied the game at 56-56 with six and a half to play. Miller then scored his second basket of the second half to give the Eagles their only lead of the game. That lead did not last as Alvernia's Matt King hit a three-pointer, his only basket after the first two minutes of the game to give the Crusaders the lead right back.

Alvernia took advantage of a pair of Eastern miscues to expand their lead to five at the two minute mark, and they were able to hit their free throws down the stretch to escape with a ten point win. Alvernia shot 18-27 from the foul line, while the Eagles struggled in their infrequent trips to the charity stripe. 

The Eagles scored 35 points in the paint to just 22 for the Crusaders, but in the end, Shawell's 32 points proved to be too much. Jason Reels joined Miller in double-figures with 14 points. Williams and Volpe each had nine. King finished with twelve points and ten rebounds for Alvernia. 

The Crusaders will clinch the top spot in the league with an Immaculata loss or a home win against Marywood University. The Eagles will, in all likelihood need to win one of their final two games to secure a berth in the Tournament. The Eagles return to action at Cabrini on Monday night. That game is scheduled for 8:00 pm.