Eastern University Men's Basketball took a short trip south to take on Penn State-Brandywine in a non-conference game Friday night. Twelve Eastern players scored as they overcame a sluggish start to overwhelm the host Lions 78-54.

Through the opening moments of the game, the Eagles sought to pound the ball inside against the smaller Lions. Don Kaiser was able to pick up eight first half points, but the rest of the team struggled to find rhythm in the game. Eastern held a six point lead at the break.

Associate Head Coach Ryan Livingston said of the Eastern effort. "We had a slow start, but we did a good job to start the second half in extending our defense and creating offense with our defense." The Eagles used a burst at the start of the second half to run out to a 20 point advantage that they would not relinquish. 

Martin Soaries finished the day with 15 points while shooting 3-4 from behind the arc. Soaries was the only Eastern player to connect from distance on the day, but solid interior passing and good penetration from first year guard Collin Whipple and Chris Myers, who both finished the day with five assists, created scoring opportunities from in close. The Eagles shot 57% from the floor in the second half.

Danny Miller finished the day with 12 points and Tyrik Tucker again reached double figures with 10. The coaching staff was pleased with the opportunity to see the young players get another game under their belts before the start of second semester. "We were able to get some things done with our defense tonight," said head coach Matt Nadlehoffer, " but we still have a lot to work on."

The Eagles (6-4 0-3) host King's College in their first Freedom Conference home game on Wednesday night.