LANCASTER, Pa. - Eastern University Men's Basketball lost 103-91 in a high-scoring affair at Lancaster Bible College. The host Chargers shot 57 percent from the field and made 11-of-22 3-pointers to claim their home opener and remain unbeaten.

The Eagles (3-2) hung around in the early stages of the first half,  but they were never able to get a critical series of stops to tie or take the lead. Shaquan Turk hit back-to-back free throws to cut the Chargers' lead to 19-16 with just over 12 minutes left to play in the first half.

LBC then pulled away with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes. Eastern found a scoring rhythm to close the half.  The Chargers, however, delighted their overflow crowd as they matched the Eagles basket- for-basket. LBC led 51-36 at halftime. The Eagles would not cut the deficit to single digits until the final minute of the game.

"We knew going in they were a very experienced roster and looked to control tempo," stated Head Coach Eric McNelley. "Their pace of play and their ability to push the ball in transition on both makes and misses set the tone for the night."

"Most of the damage was done in transition," continued McNelley. "Their bigs ran the floor extremely hard and put a ton of pressure on our transition defense. Our young bigs had a hard time with the pace early and put the pressure on our guards to help in the paint leaving their shooters open."

The red-hot Chargers did not cool off over the halftime break. They shot 18-of-31 from the floor and a ridiculous 7-of-11 (.636) from behind the 3-point arc in the second half. Coming into today's game, the Chargers had earned decisive double-figure wins over traditionally strong programs. Most recently, they won by 27 at No. 19 Franklin & Marshall.

Shaquan Turk scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Eastern.  Anthony Fernandez, Malcolm Garrison, and Victor Pena joined Turk in double-figures. Garrison made four 3-pointers for 14 points. Fernandez scored 15 points in eleven minutes off the bench, and Pena scored ten points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The Eagles shot 45 percent from the field, and 43 percent from 3-point range, but it was their inability to slow down the veteran LBC offense that proved to be the difference.

"Our young team will definitely use this as a learning experience, " McNelley concluded. "We have 13 freshmen and Sophomores on this roster, and they ran into a buzz saw tonight. We know how competitive our conference is and that we need to be ready for Wilkes and Del Val after the break. This loss is a learning experience, and we will use it as such.""

Jordan Mellinger scored 20 points to lead five Chargers in double-figures.

Eastern will travel to Wilkes on Dec. 2nd for an 8 pm tip-off.

"We know how competitive our conference is and that we need to be ready for Wilkes and Del Val after the break," concluded McNelley. "This loss is a learning experience, and we will use it as such."

Eastern will travel to Wilkes on Dec. 2nd for an 8 pm tip-off.