had won the game 63-56.
Vinny Baumunk paced the visitors with 20 points and 14
rebounds.
Tyrik Tucker and
Jason Reels each scored 14 points for the
Eagles.
The Cougars took advantage of their opportunities at the
foul line as they hit 21-25 for a third of their total from the charity
stripe. The Eagles only scored five points from the line as the
Misericordia defense kept Eastern away from the basket without sending
them to the line.
The first half started, but never got going as
neither team was able to do much of anything on the offensive end in
the opening twenty minutes. Tucker led all scorers with eight points at
the break, but Misericordia held a 19-17 lead.
The game started
to move to start the second half. The Cougars scored the first two
baskets before the Eagles scored six straight to to tie the game just
over two minutes into the second. Baumunk sparked a 9-0 Misericordia
run with a three point play, and things looked bleak for the Eagles.
The Eastern team had been down nine before, but on a night when points
were as scarce as they were on this night, a nine point edge seemed to
be nearly insurmountable.
Reels scored eight points in a 15-6 run
to tie the contest at 38 with eight and a half minutes to go. Martin
Soaries hit a big three-pointer on a feed from fellow first-year guard
Collin Whipple to tie the game. Soaries then gave the Eagles a
short-lived lead when he answered a pair of free throws with his second
trey in a minute.
Misericordia then scored five straight points
on a pair of Baumunk baskets and a Marcus Little free throw, and the
Eagles were never able to retake the lead. The Cougars, led by Little's
9-12 effort, hit their free throws down the stretch and held off the
Eagles with solid interior defense for the win.
The loss snaps
the Eagles' six game winning streak and drops Eastern into a tie for
third in the Freedom standings. Eastern returns to action Wednesday
evening when the travel to Madison, NJ to take on the FDU-Florham
Devils for the second time in a ten day stretch.
Box Score
