Five players scored in double figures, and the team shot 61% from the field in the second half as the Eastern University Men's Basketball team cruised to a 93-69 season opening win over Valley Forge Military College. Collin Whipple paced the Eagles with 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Early on, the Eagles, who were playing without Martin Soaries or Jason Reels, looked a little uneasy playing in front of the home crowd for the first time this year. The team committed several early turnovers, they missed free throws, and surrendered a barrage of three-pointers. As a result, they trailed by seven midway through the opening period.

In response, the Eagles looked to first year forward Alex Nelson. The 'bearded one' converted a three point play on a nice feed from Whiplple in transition to cut the Trojan lead to 23-19. Just over a minute later Whipple again fed Nelson to tie the game at 25. While the visitors would briefly grab another couple two point leads, the momentum of the game shifted to the home side. Freshman guard Justin McClelland buried a three pointer from the wing on a Chris Myers kick out to give the Eagles the lead for good 34-31 with 4:33 to play. 

The Eagles finished the half up 40-34 despite struggling from the field and from the foul line. Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer attributed the early misfires to nerves. "We will be alright from the foul line. We missed a bunch of shots early and were throwing the ball around a little bit, but I think that was in large part due to the excitement of the first game." Eastern shot just 8 for 18 from the line and 15-34 from the field in the first half. They also committed ten of their 16 turnovers before the break. Chris Myers, Eastern's only senior starter today, led the way with 12 points in the opening twenty minutes. Shameek Scott had nine to lead the guests.

Out of the break, the Eagles immediately put the visitors under pressure inside, and the Trojans accumulated four fouls in the opening 90 seconds of the second half. Eastern quickly pumped the lead to 49-36, before the Trojans responded with a 9-2 run of their own to briefly close the gap to six points at 51-45.

For the rest of the game, the Eagles were able to limit turnovers and dominate the glass. Led by Nelson's 15 caroms, they would finish with a 54-35 advantage on the glass. Derek Wright also chipped in with eight rebounds. The Eastern team shot the ball exceptionally well in the second half, and they still managed to grab eight offensive rebounds. 

Whipple scored 12 points after the break and Wright had 11 of his 17 in the second half. He also had six assists and a pair of steals.  Emmanuel Pitman tossed in 24 of his game-high 29 after the intermission for the guests. Myers finished with 16 points and five assists, while Nelson completed his double double with 13 points. McClelland went 5-9 from the field for 14 points in his first collegiate game.

While he recognized that the free throw shooting would have to improve, and that they would have to do a better job taking care of the ball, Nadelhoffer took several positives from the evening's game. He said, "We did a real nice job on the boards, and it was good to see our young guys get some experience in this game. We think that we are capable of shooting a good percentage from the field, and we did that in the second half. I thought we shared the ball very well as well."

The Eagles will look to build on the momentum of today's opener as they travel to Grantham, Pa. for a non-league game against fellow MAC member Messiah on Wednesday. That game will start at 7:00 pm.