Though Eastern University Men's Basketball limped through their first three games after Christmas, Eastern Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer saw signs that his team was growing throughout the three-game skid. That growth paid dividends this evening as the Eagles (6-5, 3-1 Freedom) picked up another important win in the Conference with a convincing 72-61 win at Wilkes University.

To compete with the Colonels' inside presence, the Eastern staff made the decision to start Derek Wright. The junior swing-man stepped up to the challenge early with a pair of three pointers to give the Eagles a 6-4 lead two minutes into the game. Wright finished the contest with 14 points and five rebounds. He was instrumental in guarding Wilkes' interior players while creating a mismatch at the other end with his ability to step away from the basket and hit the perimeter shot.

Martin Soaries, who finished the first half with ten points, scored a pair of baskets to help the Eagles extend their edge to 10-6. Wilkes responded with a three point play from Anthony Gabriel and a runner in the lane from ChrisDeRojas to claim an 11-10 lead. Alex Nelson scored a tough inside hoop on a Chris Myers pass before DeRojas hit another tough runner to give Wilkes its final lead of the night at 13-12. DeRojas , a returning All-Conference guard who entered the game averaging just under 15 points an outing, would not score another field goal and finished with just six points.

Coach Nadelhoffer was quick to cite the work of Myers. He said, "Chris stepped up to the challenge tonight. He was incredibly disciplined and he battled to keep DeRojas from getting any looks. He torched us up here last year, and Chris wanted to handle him. He showed great leadership in the way he competed at the defensive end and his composure with the basketball." Myers scored just two points on the night, but was charged with just one turnover and was a constant presence on the defensive end.

Soaries hit a pair of free throws and set up Nelson for an easy hoop in transition to give the Eagles a 16-13 edge. The lead grew to 29-19 with five minutes to play as Collin Whipple scored a basket and a three pointer on either side of a single Gabriel free throw to cap the run. 

Both teams went cold in the closing minutes of the half, as the Eagles missed four straight and conceded a pair of turnovers. Wilkes fared only slightly better as they were only able to connect on a pair ofDeRojas free throws to go into the half down 29-21. Nadelhoffer commented on the contribution his bench made in coming in and playing a supporting role through the first half. He said, "I thought we got great minutes from Paul [Trusty] and Eddie [Mbanda] to help deal with their size. If those guys don't come ready to play, I'm not sure we are in the game at half."

Soaries had ten points and three steals at the intermission, and Nelson and Wright went to the break with six points apiece. Wilkes held an 18-10 edge on the glass at the break. Tom Kresge led the Colonials with seven points and six caroms.

The opening possession of the second half might have been the most telling set of the game. The Eagles, who have been trying to control tempo, worked for a good shot about thirty seconds into the half. The shot rimmed out, but Soaries collected the rebound, and the Eastern team reset and ran more offense. They missed again, but stole back another possession with an offensive rebound from Myers.

A foul by Wilkes gave the Eagles another fresh shot clock, and finally, 70 seconds into the half, Wright got the opening he was looking for and converted a three point play to give the guests an 11 point edge. 

Wilkes would eventually pull to within five at 34-29 on a Gabriel three point play, but Whipple bumped the Eastern lead back to nine as he buried two three pointers around a pair of free throws from Tom Kresge. Another steal and lay-up fromSoaries pushed the lead to 42-31, and Nelson capped another disciplined possession with a three point play to lift the Eastern lead to 14.

Wilkes would only slip the deficit to under ten for a couple brief seconds the rest of the way. As the Colonels attempted to extend pressure to come back, the advantage shifted even further toward the visiting side. With the floor spread, the Eastern guards were able to penetrate and find open shooters.Mbanda was the beneficiary of several of those plays. The 6-8 sophomore had his hands ready around the basket and scored six points in a brief spurt to help the Eagles hold their lead. Mbanda finished with 10 points and seven rebounds . Nadelhoffer said, "Eddie played with confidence and good awareness tonight. He ran the floor hard, did great work on the glass, and did a nice job around the rim. I was very pleased with the contribution of the bench as a whole."

Both teams made 21 free throws in the lengthy second half, Wilkes took 33 as the Eagles were called for 17 fouls after half. Eastern, meanwhile, was much more efficient at the line as they finished the game 23-29 from the stripe. Soaries, who finished with an impressive 22 points, six assists, five steal night, led the way with 10-13 from the line. Whipple hit all four of his attempts to finish with 15 points off the bench. Wright, the fourth Eagle in double-figures scored 14, and Nelson finished with nine in a foul-plagued evening.

Kresge led Wilkes with 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Gabriel had 19 and 9. The rest of the Wilkes line-up went 5-22 with ten rebounds. Eastern finished the game shooting 49% from the floor and 63% from three point range. Wilkes hit just 2-13 threes.

Nadelhoffer summed up the evening saying, "Even though we had lost the three games, we felt like we were making progress. Tonight was an important test for us, and I think the guys followed their senior leader [Myers] and passed the test with flying colors. Wilkes (9-5, 1-3 Freedom) beat Carthage just a few days ago, and I felt we were able to dictate the way the game was going to be played and we executed really well. I'm really proud of our whole group."

The Eagles return to the road on Saturday for another important Freedom Conference test against Delaware Valley. That game is scheduled for a 3:00 pm start.

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