Eastern University Men's Basketball entered this evening's Freedom Conference home game having lost in each of the last 13 meetings against the Alvernia Crusaders.This might not have been news that reached the ears of the Eastern freshmen. Tyrik Tucker and Martin Soaries combined for 42 points and five steals as the Eagles (10-4 4-3) earned their fifth straight win with a hard-fought 65-61 decision.

The Eagles entered the game riding a wave of confidence after earning wins in their previous four games. Coach Nadelhoffer and his staff were concerned with how their young squad would stand up to their third game in a six day stretch. Early on, it looked as though the physical Alvernia front line was poised to impose it's will on the Eastern front line. Nick Rivera scored 10 first half points, and the Crusaders seemed to be able to get him the ball in dangerous positions at will. 

The visitors took advantage of 10 second chance points and 57% shooting to forge a 35-33 edge at the break. The Eagles relied heavily on the multi-faceted game of Tucker to stay in the game early. Alvernia held a 13-9 lead after six and a half minutes of play, and Tucker had all nine Eastern points.

A Jason Reels lay-up and a Soaries three-pointer from the left wing gave the Eagles a 16-15 lead with eleven minutes to play. Neither team was able to push out to a significant lead, and the Crusaders closed out the half with two straight baskets to take their halftime lead. Tucker led all scorers with 15 points at the intermission.

The second half started like a movie that the Eastern coaching staff had seen before. David Washington capped a 9-4 run with a three-point shot and Alvernia seized a 44-37 lead after three minutes of play in the second half. 

Tucker answered with a pair of free throws, but Charlie Hughes hit a 17-footer to reclaim the seven point edge. The Crusaders had the ball with a chance to increase their advantage to nine when Soaries jumped into the passing lane and brought the packed house back into the game with a fast break dunk over a recovering defender.

After both teams traded empty possessions, the Eagles made another highlight caliber play to cut the deficit to 46-43. Jason Reels stripped a ball clean at the top of the key and sprinted out on a two on one fast break. Reels drew the defender and flipped a lob into the vicinity of the rim. Tucker collected the ball and slammed it home with two hands.

Even with momentum seeming to go their way, the Eagles were unable to take the lead until the Soaries connected on two straight three-pointers to erase a five point deficit and give the Eagles a 57-56 edge with 5:47 on the clock. Those three pointers came during a stretch in the game where the Eagles played with four freshmen and a sophomore on the floor. 

Freshman center Carlos Pujols made his presence felt at the defensive end. He slowed down Rivera and took three charges to give the Eagles several possessions. Collin Whipple and sophomore Derek Wright joined Soaries and Tucker. Associate head coach Ryan Livingston said of the combination, "We found a good rotation for what was there tonight. Our team chemistry is at a point now where guys are stepping up in different situations, and we go with different line-ups. Derek pulled down five rebounds in the second half, and it seemed like every one of them was enormous. This was a very good team win."

Wright banked in an 8-foot jump shot to give the hosts a 59-56 edge with 4:45 on the clock. The Crusaders would cut the Eastern lead to one on a pair of Rivera free throws, but Soaries made a tough spinning lay up, and the Eagles hit 5-6 free throws in the last minute to earn the 65-61 win.

Alvernia (8-8 5-3) shot 55% from the field and held a 32-22 edge on the boards, but the Eagles responded with 50% shooting of their own and were able to force 20 turnovers. The win over the Crusaders is the first since the first meeting between the two schools in Head Coach Nadelhoffer's tenure at Eastern. Nadelhoffer said, "This is a good win for us, but it is just one win. I feel like we are making great strides with our guys buying in to what we are trying to do, but right now we are thinking about trying to win on Saturday."

The Eagles return to action at 3:00 pm Saturday when they host Wilkes University (9-6 5-3) in another game with playoff implications. Those unable to attend can follow the action on Live Stats at www.goeasterneagles.com/livestats

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