ST. DAVIDS, Pa.--Eastern University Men's Basketball darted out of the gate against the King's College Monarchs and never looked back, winning 66-47 Wednesday night.
The Eagles jumped to a 9-0 lead to start the game and never relinquished the lead in their fifth consecutive conference win. The Eagles improve to 14-6 overall and a league-best 7-2 in the conference.
Martin Soaries led the Eagles with 18 points, Collin Whipple added 17 and Alex Nelson scored 16.
When these two teams met in January, Eastern lost 74-66. Coach Nate Stewart pointed to his team playing better, more intense defense as the difference in the two games. "We held them to 21 points in the first half," Stewart said. "That's got to be the season low for us. We did a better job of defending the post. Their post guys didn't hurt us tonight like they did (at King's College)."
At King's in January, forward Keyton Winder scored 20 points against the Eagles. This time, at Eastern, Winder went 0-for-6 and finished with zero points.
Stewart also noted how the Eagles controlled the ball more effectively Wednesday night. "We only had 11 turnovers this time, compared to 18 last time," he said. "We took care of the ball and got extra possessions."
Eastern also got extra possessions from offensive rebounding opportunities. Eastern collected 18 offensive boards and out-rebounded King's 48-32. Alex Nelson had 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, Collin Whipple grabbed eight, Donald Kaiser seven, and Mitch Singer six.
Kaiser provided a strong presence in the middle, officially recording three blocks. Coach Stewart noted Singer's hustle and ability to provide fresh legs off the bench. Singer saw limited action Monday against Cabrini, but helped Eastern win the more important conference game.
"Mitch Singer was big in the second half, getting offensive rebounds, keeping plays alive and making defensive plays," Stewart said.
The Eagles earned 20 free throw opportunities and converted 16 of those, while the Monarchs were just 1-for-4 from the free throw line.
Eastern travels to Delaware Valley College on Saturday for a 3 pm Freedom Conference game.
Box Score
