First year forward Tyrik Tucker finished the day with 15 points and six rebounds, but his block of a game-tying lay-up attempt as time expired might have been his biggest play in Eastern's 60-58 come-from-behind win in St. Davids on Saturday afternoon. Jason Reels scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to help his squad to it's sixth straight win.

Eastern (11-4 5-3) jumped to a 19-9 lead after 12 minutes in a defensive struggle early. Tucker and Martin Soaries sparked the 12-3 run to break open the 7-6 game with back to back dunks. Collin Whipple hit a three pointer and Ty Coleman scored a pair of buckets in the run.

The Colonels battled back and closed out the half on a 17-5 run to take a 26-24 lead into the break. The Eagles seemed to be rattled and out of rhythm in the face of Wilkes' extended zone. Eastern Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer said of the close of the half, "We got a good basket on a couple offensive rebounds at the end of the half, but we knew when we got up ten that they were going to come back. We have a lot of respect for the Wilkes program, and they are a very talented and well-coached team. We told the guys at the half that we were going to just 'grind out' the game." Nadelhoffer continued "They were able to get a few too many inside looks in their run to close the half, so we talked almost exclusively about protecting the inside and rebounding at halftime."

Wilkes came out in the second half with a renewed commitment to getting the ball inside, and right away the Colonels pulled out to a 7 point lead behind inside baskets from Steve Kline and Kendall Hinze. Soaries answered with a pair of free throws to cut the Wilkes lead to five. Neither team would enjoy a cushion bigger than five the rest of the way.

Wilkes took a 42-38 lead with 12:41 to play when Kline backed into the post and converted a short shot. Kline, who finished the afternoon with 15 points, scored 12 in the second half, but the Eastern coaching staff was pleased with the work their team did defensively on the Wilkes post players. Nadelhoffer said, " He went for 24 and 14 up there, and he did whatever he wanted to do. Our post players battled, and I thought Carlos (Pujols) did great work to contain him over the final nine minutes of the game.

Tucker then scored four straight points to tie the game. After Tom Kresge scored another inside basket for the Colonels, Soaries hit a three to give the Eagles a one-point edge that they would hold for just one possession. Wilkes then got a pair of baskets from Chris DeRojas, who would finish with 13 points, and a single hoop from Kline to again seize a five point lead.

Pujols then split a pair of free throws and drew a charge at the defensive end of the floor. Reels then scored four straight points on a pair of free throws and a run out following a Chris Myers steal to knot the game at 50 with six and a  half minutes to play. Nadelhoffer commented about Pujols defensive effort saying, "Los has really started to make things happen defensively. He drew another pair of charges tonight, and he did a great job taking away several of their driving lanes." Nadelhoffer also cited the work of Myers and Whipple on DeRojas on the perimeter.

Wilkes took the lead and held it over the next five minutes until DeRojas converted a lay up for a 58-55 lead with 1:24 on the clock. Reels drove the lane and earned and converted another two free throws to pull the Eagles to within one. Led by Reels' 10-11 effort, Eastern would finish 17-23 from the line in the second half and 21-31 overall. Wilkes converted 10-14. In the contest between the two teams in December, the numbers were almost inverted as Wilkes hit on 26-35 foul shots and the Eagles made just 11-14.

Nadelhoffer suggested that the increase in foul shots is a real area of growth for his squad saying, "They are a big team, and I think we stepped away from them up there. They out-rebounded us nearly 2-1 in the first game and today it was 32-31. Our guys are figuring out what it takes to compete, and the trips to the line are a result of going into areas of the court that we didn't get to the first time. Jason and Tyrik each attacked the glass, and Jason was great from the line today."

The Eagles still had work to do as Wilkes had the ball and a one point lead with a minute to play. The Colonels milked the clock but Tucker ripped a ball free on the wing and three the pass ahead to Soaries. The speedy freshman guard then outraced the Wilkes defense and converted the lay up to give Eastern just it's second lead of the second half.

Pujols took a ball away in the post with eight seconds to play. The first year post player split his two free throws to set up Tucker's dynamic block as time expired. Nadelhoffer said of the final play, "We debated (in the time out) whether or not to change things up defensively, but we decided to come out in man. Tyrik got switched on to one of their guards, but he is quick enough, and he made a great block to close the game."

With their sixth straight win, the Eagles move to 5-3 in Freedom Conference play and sit alone in the third spot in the league. The Eastern men do not have much time to sit back and enjoy the win as they host former PAC rival Misericordia University in an 8:00 p.m. game on Monday night.