DOYLESTOWN, Pa.--Eastern University Men's Basketball fell 83-71 to the Delaware Valley College Aggies Saturday afternoon, snapping a five-game conference win streak.
The Eagles led at the half, but saw the lead slip away as the Aggies shot 54.8 percent from the floor in the second half. The Aggies finished the game at 51.8 percent while the Eagles shot just 40 percent.
Eastern's Alex Nelson earned a double-double for the second consecutive game and for the fifth time this season. He finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Donald Kaiser unleashed a season-high 16 points while grabbing five rebounds.
Collin Whipple added 13 and Mike Donatoni scored 12.
Eastern led by five points at halftime and increased the lead to as many as 11 points after Whipple found Kaiser under the basket for a layup with 15:53 left.
However, the double-digit lead wouldn't last. Eagles' coach Nate Stewart said that at that point the Aggies got hot and the Eagles' defense wasn't doing a good enough job of getting defensive stops and getting rebounds.
With the Eagles playing zone, the Aggies scored three consecutive 3-pointers followed by a jumper with 13:45 left to bring them within five. A 3-pointer by Nathan Bollinger brought the Aggies to within one with 10:39 left, and a layup by Daulton Derr with 9:12 gave the Aggies the lead for the first time since six minutes into the first half.
Coach Stewart called timeout and the Eagles responded with Donatoni slicing through the lane, lofting a good floater and drawing the foul. His succesful and-one made it 55-53, Eastern.
Delaware Valley's Bollinger re-tied the score on the next play with a mid-range shot, and the back-and-forth scoring continued until the five-minute mark. With 4:56 left, Delaware Valley's Jeremy Becket threw down his second dunk of the night to give the Aggies a 67-63 lead. Soon Eastern trailed by seven and were unable to gain traction.
Bollinger scored 21 points in the second half and led all players with 29 points. Beckett added 20 points, eight rebounds and two rebounds. Beckett had been injured the last time these two teams met. Coach Stewart said that Beckett made a big difference in Saturday's game and that he proved to be a matchup nightmare.
Eastern, now 7-3 in the Freedom Conference, travels to Misericordia (also 7-3 in the conference) for an 8 pm duel Wednesday night.
Box Score
