ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to beat the visiting Hamilton College Continentals (4-2) 90-86. Shaquan Turk scored Eastern's final 11 points and finished with a team-high 24 points.

Hamilton held a 45-42 lead at halftime and used an 11-2 run to expand their edge to 61-49 and force an Eastern timeout.

"We told them that we needed to string together consecutive stops," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game. "We really just talked about defense and rebounding."

The Eagles did not score on their first possession out of the timeout, but Austin James stole the ball back and Austin Carroll converted in transition. The Eagles then went inside to Abraham Kurnick for multiple possessions. The Eastern defense held, and Kurnick made four baskets in a row to close the gap to two points. James then buried consecutive 3-pointers and a free-throw to finish the 17-0 run. The final four points of the run came on a four-point play. James, who finished the game with 16 points, has made five 3-pointers in each of his last two games. 

Carroll had five assists in the critical run of the game and matched his career-high with nine in the game.

"Austin [Carroll] responded well after being in foul trouble in the first half," McNelley said. "His play in the second half was phenomenal. He found guys in transition and created opportunities for our shooters in the half-court."

The Eastern lead ballooned to ten points when Turk hit a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer in quick succession with just over seven minutes to play. Hamilton, however, did not go away. Michael Grassey scored seven-straight points to spark a 9-0 run.

The Eagles clung to the 75-74 lead with five minutes left. Turk hit a jumper, but Grassey, who finished with a game-high 26 points, made a pair of free throws. Lincoln Holley scored on a jumper to put the Eagles up three with three minutes to play.

Turk then took over for the Eagles at the offensive end. The senior standout scored 18 of his 24 points in the final eight minutes of the game. Hamilton tied the score at 86 with 45 seconds to play. Turk made a pair of free throws for the lead and then capped the game with two more after an Eastern stop.

"This was a great team win against a quality opponent," McNelley concluded. "Lincoln was huge for us on the boards, and Shaquan came back to have a really good second half after foul trouble in the first. We are getting better at both ends of the floor."

Austin Duncan had 13 points and Kurnick added 11 as the Eastern reserves outscored their Continental counterparts 32-14.

Holley had nine points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles made 11-of-26 (42.3%) from behind the arc and had 19 assists and only ten turnovers. Grassey led five Hamilton players in double-figures. 

The Eagles (3-2) will look to build on their three-game winning streak at Rowan on Monday night.