The Eagles (8-4, 2-3) jumped out to an early 16-6 lead and built the advantage to as many as 11 in the first half. The Aggies (5-9, 2-5) battled back and took a brief lead, but a Derek Wright jumper in the waning seconds gave Eastern a 30-29 lead at the intermission.

Delaware Valley scored nine of the first 12, including six by Mike Williams, to take a six-point lead. The Aggies held led 46-40 with 12:14 remaining when Eastern went on 11-4 spurt to regain the lead at 51-50 on a Jason Reels lay-up with 8:31 to go. That was the second of eight lead changes in the half.

The Aggies took their last lead of the game with 5:07 remaining as a Williams block led a fast-break opportunity and a Cam Prince layup to make it 56-54. The Eagles responded with five straight, including three by Tyrone Coleman and they eventually upped the advantage to four, 62-58, with less than three minutes remaining.

Williams hit a layup to make it a one-possession game and both teams missed shots on their next trips downcourt. Eastern then had the ball and Chris Myers missed a layup, but Tucker was there for the tip-in and a 64-60 lead with 30 ticks to go. Soaries then picked up a critical steal and converted a pair from the line which seemed to put the Eagles in the clear with a six-point advantage.

The Eastern defense did well to hold the high-scoring Delaware Valley offense 11 points below their season average. A big key in that, according to the Eastern staff was in transition and in defending the three point arc. While neither team shot well from distance, the Aggies typically score over 20 points per game on three-pointers.

The Eagles also enjoyed a huge advantage at the line where they hit 21-31 attempts including 15-18 in the second half.

Soaries finished with a game-high 18 points and also added seven rebounds and five steals. Tucker notched 16 points and five boards while Jason Reels contributed nine points in the win.

Jones and Williams poured in 16 points apiece to pace the Aggies. Chris Mayo added 10 points and seven boards while Prince came off the bench to tally seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Eagles return to Freedom Conference action with an 8:00 pm home game against FDU-Florham on Monday night.

Box Score

-DVC Sports Info-