CENTER VALLEY, Pa-- A late rally proved not to be enough as Eastern University Men's Basketball fell 88-81 at DeSales University in an important Freedom Conference game. The Eagles (11-6, 4-4 Freedom) trailed by 12 with 4:50 to play, but pieced together a 17-4 rally to grab a lead with 2:11 on the clock. The Bulldogs, however, got big shots from senior guard Brian Hunter down the stretch to secure the win.

The two teams traded blows early before the Bulldogs opened up a 25-16 lead with an 8-0 run. Brett Moyer scored five points over the stretch and capped the run with an inside basket with just under eight minutes to play.

Kyle Malloy earned a tough three point play after grabbing an offensive rebound on the next possession. The Eagles grabbed a 35-33 lead with 30 seconds to play, but the hosts scored the final four points of the first half to take a 37-35 lead to the locker room.

Both teams shot well in the opening period. DeSales connected on 8-10 free throws and 5-10 three pointers, while the Eagles hit 8-9 free throws and 5-9 three pointers. Five different Eastern players hit from distance in the opening frame. The scoring lines were not comforting for the Eastern University Staff.

"If you tell us before the game that the final score is 88-81," said Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer, "and I'd tell you that needs to be a couple overtimes or us to win. We have won this year on our defense, and we gave up too many uncontested shots. We are not a team that lives at the three point line, and I think we started to rely on that because it was working early."

The two teams exchanged leads for the early moments of the second half and Danny Miller knotted the score at 50-50 with a short jumper with 13 and a half minutes to play. The Eagles did not score over the next 6:10 and while DeSales was not burning the nets up either, the hosts ground their way to 61-50 lead.

DeSales pushed the edge to 12 at 69-57 before the Eagles were able to change the momentum of the game with the 17-4 run.

In the end, Brian Hunter, who finished with a game-high 27 points scored nine points on a 9-2 run to close out the game. His biggest points came on a long three pointer with 1:34 on the clock to break a tie.

Martin Soaries led the charge for the Eagles. The junior guard scored seven of his team-high 23 points in the late rally. He finished 4-5 from behind the arc and was a perfect 3-3 from the foul line. The Eagles were 16-19 from the line for the afternoon, but the host Bulldogs dominated that category with a 27-33 effort. Alex Nelson added eleven points for the Eagles.

Eastern returns to action at Cabrini College on Monday night. The third installment of the Battle of Eagle Road will see the Eagles try to take back the sign from their Radnor neighbors. The game is the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team and is scheduled to start at 8:00. The game also concludes the competitive food drive with Cabrini to benefit City Team Ministries. Anyone bringing a food item for donation will be eligible to win a variety of prizes that will be raffled off throughout the evening.