ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Men's Basketball lost a heartbreaking 97-90 overtime game to Wilkes University on Wednesday night. The Colonels went 15-of-30 from 3-point range for the game while going 18-of-21 from the free throw line shooting (.857) to stun the Eagles in a crucial MAC Freedom game.

 

"A lof of hurt and a lot of pain in the locker room," said Head Coach Eric McNelley. "Eighth game this season we have been in this situation with the lead late in the game and or go to overtime and we are 1-7 in those situations. I will shoulder the load on this one, and I will work around the clock to make the right adjustments."  

 

Eastern (9-11, 3-6 MAC Freedom) jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the first half, but Wilkes (10-10, 5-4 MAC Freedom) managed to settle down and pull within two, 18-16, with just over 13 minutes to play in the half. The Colonels finally managed to take their first lead with 11:18 to go in the half at 24-23. 

 

The lead was short-lived, however, as Darius Washington was fouled on the ensuing Eagles possession on a 3-point shot and knocked down all free throw attempts to stretch the Eastern lead back to two. Washington would score four points in a row minutes later to give the Eagles a two-point, 30-28, lead with under nine minutes left to play in the half. Wilkes managed, however, to take a 44-43 lead into the locker rooms. 

 

Overall for the first half, the Eagles defense could not stop Alec Wizar, who scored 17 points while going 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-9 from 3-point range shooting (.555). Eastern as a team went 7-of-14 from 3-point range. 

"We just haven't been consistent and when we had to make stops we didn't do that," said McNelley. "We played some great defense, but when it mattered today we were not able to come up with the crucial stops that win games."  

 

The second half was much more of the same with each team trading minor scoring runs and neither team holding a lead of more than seven, Eastern 58-51 with just under 15 minutes left to play. 

 

With just over three and a half minutes left to play in the game, the Eagles held a six-point lead at 79-73 after Tarek Hamzeh hit 3-pointer. Wilkes however, managed to come all the way back on a 7-1 run to tie the game at 80-80 with 2:06 left to play. 

 

Over the final two minutes of play, both teams traded possessions and turnovers but no points. After a big defensive stand, Eastern got the ball back with six seconds left to play and a chance to win the game. However, the inbounds pass was stolen, and the Colonels now had a chance to win, but Austin Carroll made a tremendous play blocking the fastbreak layup attempt. Wilkes tried one last desperation heave, but it didn't fall, and the teams headed to overtime.   

"We are not executing out of timeouts and things we are clear cut running we are not doing correctly, and that is my fault," said McNelley. "We are not executing, and I take full responsibility for that not these players."   

 

After initially trading 3-pointers to make it an 83-83 game Wilkes managed to establish some offense. The Colonels stretched their lead to 87-83 with under three minutes left to play in the game. After a missed layup by Abraham Kurnick and then a turnover Eastern was forced to start fouling. Wilkes went a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to end all hope of an Eagles comeback and escape with the vital MAC Freedom victory. 

 

Shaquan Turk finished the game as Eastern's leading scorer with 20 points while going 6-of-8 from the field but 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Hamzeh scored a season-high 19 points going 5-of-7 from 3-point range shooting (.555). Malcolm Garrison and Austin James rounded out the Eastern double-digit scoring netting 15 and 11 points respectively. 

 

"Tarek and James did a great job stepping up today and hitting shots as they have done in the past," continued McNelley. "Shaquan and Malcolm logged a lot of minutes as well and did some nice things for us." 

 

Wizar finished as not only the Colonels but the games leading scorer with 26 points. Marcus Robinson totaled 23 points while Clay Basalyga netted 16. Steve Stravinski and Connor Evans each scored ten points respectively. 

 

"Our locker room knows we are good enough," concluded McNelley. "We need to keep our composure and need to see a win in those circumstances. We did it against Cabrini in the second game of the season. I am heartbroken for the players and our program, but right now we just need to get a W on the board."  

 

Eastern travels to FDU-Florham on February 6th for a 3 pm tipoff.