ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern Men's Basketball suffered a heartbreaking 81-79 overtime home loss to Delaware Valley on Saturday afternoon.
Shaquan Turk hit a 15-foot buzzer-beater to force overtime. The Aggies (5-1, 2-0 MAC Freedom) outscored the Eagles 8-6 in a low-scoring overtime to earn the MAC Freedom win.
The Eagles (4-3, 1-1 MAC Freedom) held a 71-69 lead late in the game after a long 3-pointer from
Austin James, but the Aggies scored four points in a matter of seconds to go up 73-71 with 11 seconds to play. The Eagles got the ball inside to
Abraham Kurnick, but the freshman post player was unable to finish his shot while being fouled with four seconds left. Kurnick missed the first shot and so had to miss the second one. He did.
Anthony Fernandez raced after the loose ball. The freshman guard grabbed the rebound and called a timeout to set up Turk's big play.
Out of the timeout, Turk grabbed the inbounds pass and had to fade deep into the corner to keep his attempt from being blocked. HIs high-arching shot hit the rim several times before settling into the net.
In overtime, Chris Moran hit a 3-ponter for the Aggies.
Malcolm Garrison responded with a long ball of his own to tie the game back up at 76-76. The Aggies scored four straight points, and the Eagles responded with three free throws. James had a great look from three with time winding down, but his shot went off the rim, and Delaware Valley escaped with the win.
Through the final 31 minutes of the game, neither team led by more than four points.
Turk scored a team-high 17 points on only eight shots. James,
Lincoln Holley, and Kurnick all scored 12 points. Garrison was 3-for-3 from distance for 11 points. Fernandez finished with eight assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Tyliek Kimbrough led Delaware Valley with 26 points and eight rebounds. Moran added 20 and Zach Sly scored 14 points respectively while combining for 11 rebounds.
"We have a lot to clean up," Head Coach
Eric McNelley said, "but we'll see them again and be ready for them."
Eastern plays at Neumann University next Saturday at 3 pm.
