ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern Men's Basketball lost a tough 96-86 game to visiting DeSales on Saturday afternoon on what was both the season finale and Senior Day. Malcolm Garrison scored 16 points and went 4-of-8 from 3-point range in what was his final game in an Eastern uniform.

"Malcolm embodies everything it means to be a student-athlete at Eastern," said Head Coach Eric McNelley. "His teammates look up to him, and he is a leader both on and off the court. I know he will go on to have a successful career upon graduating from Eastern."

The first half started off with a back and forth battle with each team trading baskets and the lead. Eastern (11-14, 5-9 MAC Freedom) took a 14-12 lead with just over eleven and a half minutes left to play in the first half after an Austin James fastbreak layup. DeSales (19-6, 11-3 MAC Freedom) took the lead right back after a Jacob battle 3-pointer making the score 16-14 sparking a 20-5 run by the Bulldogs to stretch their lead all the way out to 33-19.

The Eagles responded, however, hitting four 3-pointers in a row part of a 12-3 run to make the score 36-31 with just under three minutes left to play in the half. Shaquan Turk and Garrison each hit one while Anthony Concepcion hit two. Concepcion hit another 3-pointer with under a minute to play to close the gap to 40-36 with 40 seconds to go before halftime. A DeSales layup though with five seconds left in the half stretched the Bulldogs lead to six as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

"That was a pretty exciting few minutes of basketball," continued McNelley. "I think we saw what are capable of doing when we start playing our game and having fun out there. We need to remember moments like that and use them as learning experiences as we began to prepare for next season."  

In the second half, DeSales extended its lead to 16, 67-61, but Eastern would not back down. Garrison knocked down a 3-pointer on the Eagles ensuing possession. The Eagles managed to pull within ten, 67-57, with just under ten minutes to play in the game. The Bulldogs, however, stretch the 17 after a 7-0 scoring run in which Eastern missed two 3-pointers and turned the ball over twice.

The Eagles responded and cut the lead the eight on two separate occasions in the final five minutes of play but never could get any closer. Trailing by ten with just over two minutes left to play Tarek Hamzeh forced a turnover that ended with an alley-oop from Concepcion to Turk, making the score 86-78. Garrison knocked down a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to pull Eastern within seven, 93-86. DeSales hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

"I thought we did a lot of good things but also did some bad things," said McNelley. "We saw some young players step up and got a small glimpse of the people who can help us and contribute next season."

Turk finished the game scoring a game-high 28 points going 9-of-14 from the field shooting (.642). Abraham Kurnick netted 19 points while Concepcion scored 14 going 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

Five DeSales players tallied double-digit performances on the afternoon. Cody Deal scored a team-high 17 points while Ryan Callahan netted 16. Kuity Slanger, Brian Laird, and Aaron Burton rounded out the double-digit scoring with 14, 13, and 12 points respectively.  

"This season was challenging in a lot of ways, but I think we will be better for that," concluded McNelley. "We learned about who we are, what we are good at, and what we need to get better at as a program. I am thankful for this opportunity, but now it's time to go to work and begin getting ready for next year."