Winning on the road is difficult to do. The Eastern University men's basketball team rallied from a late four point deficit to earn a hard-fought 68-63 win at Valley Forge Christian on Tuesday night. Martin Soaries led the Eastern rally with 16 points and six assists. 

Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer was very pleased with his team's persistence in the tough environment. "They were really athletic," Nadelhoffer commented, "and we just had to battle our way through. Martin and Collin [Whipple] were outstanding down the stretch."

The Eagles struggle to shut down the Patriot attack in the opening half, as the hosts looked inside to Mike Stum, and the 6'6 sophomore responded with 15 of his game-high 20 points before the break. The hosts also held a 12-4 advantage in free throw attempts as they built a 37-34 halftime lead.

Eastern scored 34 points after the break as well, but the difference came at the defensive end, as the Eastern guards shut down penetration and held Valley Forge to 38% from the field without giving them trips to the line. The Eagles made 8 of 11 free throws after the intermission, while the Patriots split a pair in their only trip to the line.

The Eagles took just 20 shots in the second half, but they made twelve including two of four from behind the arc. Whipple and Kyle Malloy joined Soaries in double figures with 15 and 13 points respectively. Whipple added four rebounds and three assists to round out his line, and Malloy added five rebounds. 

After trailing almost the entire day, the Eagles used a 7-0 run to erase a 58-56 deficit with two and a half minutes to play. Chris Myers tied the game on a runner in the lane, and the Eagles took the lead on a three point play from Soaries. Whipple capped the run on a nice kick from Derek Wright.

The Patriots refused to go quietly, and they cut the lead to 63-61 on a three point basket. The Eagles closed out the contest with free throws down the stretch. 

The Eagles will enjoy seven days to recover from an early season schedule that had them playing five games in nine days. They return to action next Wednesday night at King's College in the Freedom Conference opener for both teams.

Box Score