COLLEGEVILLE, Pa.--Eastern University Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer is a Chicago native and a lifelong fan of the Chicago Bears. On Sunday afternoon, however, he was charged with helping his Eagle squad overcome a slow start against a different Bears squad in an afternoon game atUrsinus. After trailing by 13 points in both halves, Eastern was able to draw level with 3:22 to play, but Ursinus (2-2) scored the final six points of the game to emerge with a 73-67 win.

Like their NFL namesakes, the Eastern Eagles stumbled out of the gate with misses on their first eight field goal attempts. The host Bears jumped out to a 14-1 lead after seven minutes of action. The first comeback effort began with a short jumper off an inbounds play from Collin Whipple. Whipple then converted a three point play to trim the deficit to 16-7 and Chaz Merriman-Brown scored in a rare transition moment to pull the Eagles within a touchdown at the midway point of the half.

Neither team scored for the next four plus minutes as each team tried to work the ball inside against stout resistance. Merriman-Brown converted on an entry pass from Dan Miller to pull Eastern to within five at the 5:47 mark, but Ursinus scored the next four points to go up 20-11 with five minutes to play. Ursinus would build the edge to 10 before Alex Nelson and the Eagles would again make a dent in the lead with a 10-4 run over the final three minutes. Nelson sparked the run with a pair of free throws and a three-point play after a steal on the wing. Nelson, who finished with 23 points and 12-13 from the foul line, connected on another pair from the line before Merriman-Brown closed out the half with Eastern's only three-pointer of the game.

Despite shooting 25% from the floor, the Eagles went to the break trailing by just four. Ursinus shot 10-21 from the floor for the first 20 minutes. Eastern kept the bigger Bears off the offensive glass and stayed committed to working inside and made 10-12 free throws.

When Tyler Stowers hit an 18 footer to start the second half, it looked as though the Eagles might have found their perimeter game for the second half. That would not prove to be the case as Eastern continued to misfire from distance for the final 20 minutes.

Ursinus used the inside play of Jon Ward and three pointers from three different guards to open up another 13 point lead with 14 minutes left in the game. Coach Nadelhoffer's squad scored on nine straight possessions to carve into the lead again. Nelson, Whipple, and Miller did all the damage in the run as the Eagles pounded the ball inside repeatedly. 

Ward caused problems for the Eagles on the other end. The Ursinus center scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, and he converted on 10-12 free throws after the intermission.

Whipple, who finished with 15 points, scored four straight points on a three point play and splitting a pair after another tough inside move, to cut the Ursinus edge to 57-51 with under nine to play. That run of points started another effective run of offensive execution for the Eagles.  Eastern scored on 10-12 possessions to tie the contest at 67 on a put-back chance from Miller. 

Miller scored 18 of his 19 points in the game after the intermission. The senior forward also added a game-high eight rebounds off the bench.

Nadelhoffer was pleased with his team's work on the glass, their execution from the foul line, and their persistence in coming back from deficits against a solid opponent. Eastern held their hosts to just two offensive rebounds on the game and won the battle on the glass 31-28. The 26-33 performance from the line (78.8%) represents a substantial improvement for the Eagles who struggled from the stripe early in the year.

Jesse Krasna (18 points), and Matt Donahue (16 points) joined Wards in double figures for the hosts. 

Eastern (4-1) will try to bounce back for the start their Freedom Conference slate on Wednesday evening. The home doubleheader against King's will be the first in this winter's Season of Impact . Fans are urged to bring a wrapped toy for Toys for Tots. Anyone bringing a wrapped toy will receive free entry into the game.