Eastern University men's basketball team used a 20-0 run midway through the second half to break open a close game and earn a 74-55 win at Immaculata University. Martin Soaries led for Eastern players in double figures with 13 points.
The Eagles never trailed in the first half but were unable to pull away. Though they led by seven with just one minute to play, they were unable to take advantage of the final possession and went to the break up 35-30. Freshman forward Alex Nelson did much of the first-half damage for the Eagles as he scored 10 points on three of five shooting. He made all four of his foul shots, and the Eagles finished 10 of 13 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes of action. Jason Reels added eight points, and first-year forward Kyle Malloy picked up four rebounds to lead all players at the break.
"We just were not able to get the stops we needed in the first half," said head coach Matt Nadelhoffer, "and as a result, we were never able to pull away. I think we were a little rusty in the first half." The Eagles had significant time off for finals, and were playing in their first game in 10 days. Nonetheless, they still managed to shoot 46% from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Eastern's inability to control the glass hurt them early in the second half, as the host Mighty Macs used offensive rebounding to fuel an 8-0 run and grab a 40-37 lead. That lead would be short-lived as Soaries and Nelson hit back-to-back jumpers in the lane to give the Eagles a one-point edge before Immaculata's John Boyd scored another second chance basket to put the hose up one with 13:46 on the clock.
Then the game changed. For the next 4 1/2 minutes, the Eastern defense smothered the Mighty Macs and created chance after chance in transition. Chris Myers started the action with a floater in the lane to give the Eagles the lead. The senior captain then ripped a ball free at the defensive end and threw ahead for Colin Whipple. Whipple was taken down before he could make the lay-up, but he calmly buried a pair of free throws.
A quick post by Derek Wright in transition resulted in a five point lead. Soaries then snatched one of his game-high five steals and finished in transition. The Eagles continued to run and saw their advantage reach 19 on a three-point play following another steal by Soaries.
During the run, the Eagles scored on nine straight possessions and held the Mighty Macs to 0-4 shooting.
Immaculata finally broke their drought of nearly 5 1/2 minutes on a floater in the lane by Glenn Richards. The Eagles, however, had a quick answer when Wright hit his second three pointer of the second half to give the visitors their first 20 point advantage of the evening. Eastern built the lead to 24 with two minutes to play before finishing up at 74-55.
Nadelhoffer was pleased with his team's effort in the second half and believes that the defensive intensity that led to the run could become a trademark for this team. He said, "when we have good ball pressure, we can create offense out of our defense, and I thought Chris [Myers] did a great job of turning their point guard and giving their other players chances to make steals. We also did a much better job on the defensive glass after the first six minutes of the second half, and that made a big difference."
Eastern shot 58.3% in the second half to finish over 50% for the contest. They also made nine of 10 free throws after the intermission and finished at 82.6%. Nelson and Wright each finished with 12 points and Jason Reels finished the evening with 11 points. Malloy finished with a game-high seven rebounds to go with eight points. Robert Siter led the Mighty Macs with ten.
Eastern returns to action at home on Friday night in a 7 PM game against Rosemont College. The Ravens are coached by former Eastern standout Ryan Tozer. Fans unable to make the game can follow the action on live stats at www.goeasterneagles.com/livestats.
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