ST. DAVIDS, Pa.--Head Coach Nate Stewart made his Eastern debut a successful one as Eastern University Men's Basketball surmounted an 11-point halftime deficit en route to a 58-55 win over the Rosemont College Ravens on Tuesday night.
At halftime, with Eastern trailing 19-30, Coach Stewart said he talked to his new team about staying calm. "In the first half our offensive execution wasn't very good," he said. "We were a little rushed; we weren't letting things develop."
In the second half, Eastern put on the full court press and took control of the game. Stewart pointed to the press and two charges as turning points in the second half. "The press was huge for us down the stretch to get us back in the game," he said. "I think the two charges Collin Whipple took in the second half were huge. He did a great job stepping in in transition and taking those charges. It fired us up and got us going."
Whipple, who had recently returning returned from studying abroad, appeared to gel with the team and led all scorers with 15 points. "He's been back about 10 days probably," Coach Stewart said. "He did a fantastic job in New Zealand staying in shape. He came in and didn't miss a beat. I needed him on the floor to make plays. And make plays he did. The 3-pointer he made down the stretch in the second half was a huge shot and kind of broke their backs."
Whipple's 3-pointer brought Eastern to within two points with 11 minutes remaining. Martin Soaries sunk a 3-pointer with 7:13 left to finally give Eastern the lead.The lead bounced back and forth until Michael Donatoni nailed two free throws with seven seconds left to give Eastern a three-point lead. Rosemont's leading scorer Harrison Carsillo (14) attempted a 3-pointer to tie the game as time expired, but his shot missed.
Donatoni finished with 13 points with 11 of those points coming from the charity stripe. Donatoni shot 8-8 in the second half from the free throw line. Donald Kaiser and Martin Soaries also reached double-digit points, with each scoring 10.
Eastern hosts the Nate Ware Invitational this weekend and plays Penn St. Abington at 8 pm Friday.
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