His teammates love him.

 Ty Coleman, the lone senior on the Eastern roster, works hard and does not draw a lot of attention to himself as a defensive specialist and undersized post player. Prior to their game against Lancaster Bible College, he was the center of attention, as the team honored Coleman for his commitment to the program and his selfless attitude. Coleman then scored nine of his eleven points in the second half to help his squad pull away to a 70-62 win. Coleman would finish that day as one of four Eastern players in double-figures.

Jason Reels connected on his first three shots of the game to stake the Eagles to a 9-4 lead after just two minutes. Eastern began to fall in love with the perimeter jump shot and the visitors put together an 8-0 run to jump to a 12-9 advantage on a Carl Edwards lay-in with thirteen and a half minutes to go in the half. Jordan Decker and Martin Soaries scored to put Eastern back up one before Edwards answered with another inside hoop to give the visitors their final lead of the game. 

Eastern turned up the defensive pressure and closed the half on a 24-9 run  over the last eleven plus minute. Jordan Decker and Derek Wright combined for twelve points an assist and a steal in a three minute stretch that seemed to blow the game open. Coleman closed out the first half scoring when he drained a 16 footer from the right wing on a nice kick from junior captain Chris Myers.

Reels led all scorers with 12 at the break while Wright had eight and Decker six while missing just one shot each. Edwards led the Chargers with seven. The Eagles built their 37-23 lead with nine points off 12 turnovers.

Tyrik Tucker capped a 13-2 Eastern run with a pair of free throws to put the Eagles up 50-27 with fourteen minutes to play. It would have been more appropriate had it been a tie-breaking run as Tucker and Coleman combined for all thirteen Eastern points in the five minute span. Coleman connected on a mid-range jumper, a three pointer and a lay in, and Tucker hit four free throws and a seventeen footer on another nice pass from Myers.

The Eagles held a 22 point edge with ten minutes to play. The Chargers then took advantage of a couple open looks to get hot and cut the Eastern advantage to 57-50 with a 16-1 run. Billy Harrison hit three long-range threes and Kevin Keltner connected for five points on a three-pointer and driving lay-in. The Eastern starters returned to the game to stabilize the situation and take away the three point shot for the rest of the game.

Coach Nadelhoffer was pleased with his team's defensive intensity as they built their lead early, but somewhat frustrated with a few of the lapses in the last tenminutes of the game. He said, "We kind of spoiled a really good defensive effort with a lack of concentration against their shooters. We knew Harrison can shoot the ball, and we gave him open looks to give them a chance to make a game of it."

Nadelhoffer spoke of Coleman saying, "Ty is going to accomplish great things. He has grown incredibly during his time her. He is a great success story, and we are honored to be a part of that. It was great to see him have a good night tonight, and I know the guys want to keep him playing for a little while longer."

Reels led all scorers with 19 points. Coleman, Tucker, and Wright each scored 11 in the win. Martin Soaries collected a team-high seven rebounds to go with eight points, four assists, and three steals in another solid all-around game.

Harrison lead the Chargers with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Kevin Keltner collected seven assists to go with his 14 points.

Eastern (16-8 9-6) returns to action Saturday with a critical game at King's College. A win in that game combined with a DeSales win at Alvernia would put the Eagles in third place. If the Eagles fall at King's or if DeSales loses at Alvernia and Manhattanville wins, then Eastern would take on Delaware Valley College in a play in game on Monday.

The 16 wins ties an NCAA Division III high-water mark for the Eagles, who were supposed to be in a rebuilding year following the graduation of seven seniors last year. 

The playoff schedule will be updated on goeasterneagles.com shortly after the conclusion of Saturday's games.