WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - A slow start in the first half caused Eastern Men's Basketball to drop below .500 as it fell to King's College 73-60 on Saturday afternoon. Shaquan Turk scored 19 points but was unable to help generate any more offense for the Eagles, as they dropped their second straight game in MAC Freedom play.    

After falling behind in the early stages of the first half, Eastern (7-8, 1-3 MAC Freedom) managed to tie the game up at 8-8. However, the Monarchs (8-7, 2-2 MAC Freedom) went on a 14-3 scoring run to stretch their lead all the way to 22-11 with just over ten minutes left to play in the half. The Eagles only managed to pull within single digits one time for the remainder of the half. Abraham Kurnick hit a layup with just under three minutes left to go to make the score 30-21, but Eastern was unable to score again until the 38-second mark of the half to make the score 35-23 heading into the break.    

"We continue to come out flat and to put ourselves in large holes," said head coach Eric McNelley. "You can't do that in this conference." 

Overall in the first half, the Eagles went 9-of-29 shooting (.310) from the field while going only 3-of-15 from 3-point range to shoot (.200).    

"We didn't hit shots today," continued McNelley. "We are struggling from behind the arc right now, and we can't continue to do that. Our players need to knock down shots and stay the course."  

Trailing 52-33 with just under eleven minutes left to play in the game the Eagles managed to mount a minor comeback. Darius Washington hit two 3-pointers and eight straight points by Austin Carroll made the score 54-47 pulling Eastern within single digits for the first time since the 2:48 mark of the first half when it trailed by nine. 

Both teams traded baskets for the next five minutes, but the Eagles were unable to break the seven to nine point deficit. Over the final two minutes of play King's closed out the game on a 7-2 run that sealed the victory for the Monarchs.  

Turk finished the game with 19 points scoring 12 in the second half going 4-of-9 from the field and 6-of-12 overall shooting (.500) for the game. He was the only Eastern player to score in double digits. Turk now sits only five points away from 1,000. 

"Turk is a gifted player and probably the most athletically gifted player in the league," said McNelley. "He has been ultra-efficient on the offensive end and a tough matchup for guys to stay in front of. I don't see that changing much the rest of the season."

Tom Heston led all King's scorers with 15 points while John Fazzini and Derek Wilkins each scored 12 points apiece. Chris Fazzini rounded out the double-digit scoring netting 11 points of his own. 

"We have no choice but to get back at it on Monday," concluded McNelley. "We need to make adjustments and get back to the basics and find our identity." 

Eastern travels to Manhattanville on January 20th for a 8 pm tipoff.