Eastern University Men's Basketball dropped a tough 65-59 decision at FDU-Florham in a rare Tuesday night tilt. The loss drops the Eagles into third place in the Freedom Conference with two games to play. The Eagles, however, can earn home court advantage in the first game of the league playoffs with a pair of home wins this week. Other results in the Freedom Conference guaranteed the Eagles a shot in the post season.
Eastern stumbled out of the gate to begin the game as the host Devils built a 13-5 lead seven minutes into the game. Sophomore center Eddie Mbanda scored on an inbounds play to spark a 16-3 run over the next six and a half minutes. Five different Eagles scored in the spurt. FDU then worked back into a 22-22 tie following a three point play from Ricky Fetske and free throws from both sides. The Eagles closed out the half on a meager 7-4 run to take a 29-26 edge to the locker room.
Soaries led all scorers with 11 points at the break, and Derek Wright added seven. Alex Nelson, who scored 36 the last time the two teams met, was saddled with foul trouble and did not score in the first half.
After FDU went up two on a technical foul on the Eastern bench, the Eagles answered with consecutive three pointers from Chris Myers and Nelson to take a 41-37 lead with 13 minutes to play. Katz, however, had an answer. The sophomore guard, who missed a big chunk of the season for the Devils, hit a big three from the wing to cut into the Eastern lead. He would finish with a game-high 21.
After Katz hit the three pointer with 12:40 on the clock, the game stayed as a one possession game for nearly the next ten minutes. FDU briefly led by four before Myers hit a three-pointer to close the gap. The Eagles saw their chance to take the lead with two minutes to play slip away as Mbanda was called for a lane violation while making his second free throw. Katz was the difference late, as he made all eight of his free throws down the stretch and came up with a critical steal.
Soaries finished with 19 points and three steals and three blocked shots, and Nelson joined him in double-figures with 11. Derek Hall finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Fetske had 12 points and 12 boards for the Devils. Both sides shot 39% from the floor in the second half. The Eagles made two more field goals, but FDU made 17-20 from the foul line against just three second half attempts for the visitors.
Eastern (11-11, 7-5 Freedom) returns to action at home on Thursday night against Wilkes University. That game, originally scheduled for last Wednesday, gives the Eagles a chance to assure themselves at least a third seed with a win. They will then close out the regular season with a home game against Delaware Valley College on Saturday.
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