ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The last time it happened not a single student, player, or coach was present on the campus of Eastern University. Eagle Road Rival Cabrini College had beaten Eastern Men's basketball in each of the seven seasons since Eastern left the PAC and joined the Freedom Conference.  The Cavaliers seemed to have a stranglehold on the annual Battle of Eagle Road. In a single play, Malcolm Garrison changed everything. Eastern's lone senior drained a 25 foot 3-pointer with just over four seconds to play to lift the Eagles to an 86-85 win.

Garrison finished 3-of-7 from behind the arc and grabbed five rebounds. He scored all of his points in the final nine minutes of the contest. It was his final three points that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

"All I saw was the rim," Garrison said of the final shot. "I told Ant (Anthony Concepcion) at the free throw line that I was fine and to get me the ball. He got close enough and flipped it behind him. That's all I remember."

Garrison's remarkable shot capped a tremendous rally. The visiting Cavaliers held an 81-76 with 46 seconds to play.  Garrison answered with a 3-pointer on a nice crosscourt pass from Austin James. After the Cavaliers had split a pair of free throws, Anthony Concepcion found a cutting Shaquan Turk near the rim. Turk finished the basket with a Cabrini player on his back. The junior standout missed the free throw for a chance to tie, and the Eagles had to foul.

Cabrini's Deryl Bagwell made two free throws to extend Cabrini's lead back to three at 84-81. Concepcion, who had four of his five assists in the final four minutes of the game, found Abraham Kurnick underneath to pull Eastern within one with just 25 seconds to play.

A one-for-two effort from the line set up Garrison's Heroics. Concepcion created a little space with a strong dribble and flipped the ball behind him to Garrison. The rest is the stuff of legends.

"I was thinking more about our players," said Head Coach Eric McNelley when asked about his dramatic first win as a college head coach. "We have had a tough three weeks, a lot of new heads, a lot of new freshmen and transfers that are here and we're trying to mesh and trying to build something here, and that takes time. If anything I was happier for our guys understanding what we're trying to accomplish in getting a big win."

The Eagles (1-1) raced out to a 9-2 over their rival but only watched as the Cavaliers came roaring back to take a 20-15 lead midway through the first half. With under five seconds to go in the half, Joshua Sanchez beat the time clock with a banked-in a three-pointer to trim the Cabrini lead to 42-37 at the intermission.

Turk led all scorers with 13 points at the break. Begwell had 11 to pace the Cavaliers. Cabrini built the lead on the strength of 50 percent 3-point shooting.

Eastern pounded the ball inside to Kurnick to start the second half.  The 6'6' freshman used a variety of interior moves to create and finish chances. The Eagles fought all the way back to take a 68-63 lead with just over six minutes left to play.

When the Cavaliers used an 11-1 run to retake the lead at 74-69, it looked like it might be the same old story. This year, however, the Eagles held their ground and earned the comeback win.

"He [Malcolm] hits big shots. He's one of those kids; he's a senior that somehow someway finds a way," stated McNelley. With a smile on his face McNelley concluded, "He hits tough shots all the time in practice and say 'that's a Malcolm shot,' well what you saw was a Malcolm shot."

Shaquan Turk led all Eastern scorers with 25 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. Kurnick scored all 12 of his points in the second half and grabbed four rebounds. Austin Carroll scored ten points. Begwell led the Cavaliers with 22 and Ivan Robinson chipped in with 20.  Tyheim Monroe had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Eastern will travel to Beaver Falls, Pa. to take on Geneva College Friday night in its first matchup of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tipoff at Geneva College.