champion DeSales University Bulldogs down to the wire, but foul trouble late, and some clutch shots from the hosts lifted the Bulldogs to a 66-56 win Saturday afternoon. The Eagles (6-6 2-1) controlled tempo throughout the first half and held a 20-19 lead at the break. Despite trailing by as much as seven points in the second half, the Eagles rallied and seized a four-point edge with just over five minutes to play before a 7-0 run changed the game late.

The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the game on easy layups, and held an 8-2 lead just over two minutes into the contest. At that point, the Eastern defense began to work. Colin Whipple converted a steal to cut the edge to,and the sophomore guard 8-4, and the sophomore guard buried a three pointer to pull the Eagles within one with 14:25 to play in the opening frame. At that point, the game ground to nearly a standstill and every possession took almost a full 35 seconds.

With every possession counting for a bunch, the Eagles did a great job taking care of the basketball. They finished the first half with just three turnovers while forcing the Bulldogs into seven. Eastern head coach Matt Nadelhoffer cited the work of point guard Chris Myers in keying the Eastern pressure through the first half. The only senior on the eastern roster consistently hounded the DeSales point guards and delayed the host's entry into their offense. DeSales had only 19 shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Whipple, who scored the Eagles first seven points, led all scorers at the break with seven. Eastern got eight points off the bench as Derek Wright scored six and Eddie Mbanda converted a big put-back following a Martin Soaries miss.

The Eagles looked to control tempo in the second half as well, but the Bulldogs hit several tough shots early to forge a 33-26 lead with 13:21 to play in the game. The game got faster as both teams connected on shots and the Bulldogs took advantage of a broken play and opened up an eight point lead on Bob Zanneo's second three pointer of the half.

The Eagles then answered with a  10-2 run capped by consecutive three point plays from Soaries and Alex Nelson to tie the game at 43-43. They continued the run as Myers hit a runner in traffic and Soaries finished a jumper to give the Eagles a four point edge.

DeSales then  scored seven straight to retake the lead for good. Brian Hunter, who scored ten of his 19 points in the last five minutes of action, delivered a crushing blow on a three pointer in transition after Myers went to the bench with his fourth foul.

With the lead, DeSales went to Hunter and Darnell Braswell down the stretch, and the two veteran guards responded. Braswell hit 6-6 from the foul line and finished with a game-high 22 points.

Derek Wright led the Eagles with 14 points, and Soaries and Nelson added 12.  Nadelhoffer said of the game, “We did a great job sticking with our plan early, and I thought we fought back really well in the second half, but we had a few breakdowns that cost us late. They are a good team, and Hunter and Braswell made their shots down the stretch. There are a lot of positives we can take from this, but we also know that we have to get better.”

The Eagles are back on the road again on Wednesday night as they travel back to Wilkes-Barre for a game at Wilkes.

Box Score