MADISON, N.J. - Eastern Men's Basketball pulled out a crucial 81-73 MAC Freedom victory over host FDU-Florham on Saturday afternoon. Austin James scored a season-high 18 points in 26  minutes to help the Eagles claim the win.

 

"We did a fantastic job on the glass today," said Head Coach Eric McNelley. "Victor Peña and Jordan Johnson really helped us control the game. We haven't been doing a good job of that this half of the season."  

 

After an initial back and forth battle in the opening minutes of the first half the game was deadlocked at 14-14. Tarek Hamzeh hit a 3-pointer to spark a 15-8 run by Eastern (10-11, 4-6 MAC Freedom) to take a 29-22 lead with just over eight and a half minutes left to play in the half. 

 

After the Devils (4-17, 2-8 MAC Freedom) went on a 5-0 run to make it a one-possession game at 29-27 the Eagles managed to find a response. James knocked down a jumper to ignite another scoring run by Eastern, this time, a 12-6 run to close out the half and take a 41-33 lead into the locker room. 

 

"We have a ton of guys on the roster that can have an impact every night," continued McNelley. "It was great having guys step up and pick Shaquan up tonight. Shaquan has been fighting through some minor injuries. It was great to get a win and get him some rest."

 

As a team, the Eagles went 15-of-34 from the field shooting (.441) in the half and 7-of-12 from 3-point range to shoot (.583). While FDU-Florham did go 13-of-32 shooting (.406) from the field the Devils turned in a 4-of-14 performance from the free throw line shooting (.286). 

In the opening minutes of the second half, FDU-Florham closed the Eagles lead to a mere two points at 47-45 after a 12-6 run to open the half. Once again, however, James had a response hitting a layup to spark a 13-5 run by Eastern that was capped off by a James 3-pointer to stretch its lead to 60-50. 

 

With just over six minutes left to play the Devils battled all the way back to make it a three-point game at 67-64. James hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing Eagles possession to stretch the lead back to six and make it a multiple possession game which proved to be important in the final five and a half minutes of play. 

 

FDU-Florham did manage to pull within two with 54 seconds left to play at 75-73. It looked like once again the Devils were going to tie the game up and force overtime but Hamzeh hit a big time 3-pointer to make it a five-point game at 78-73. James then knocked down 3-of-4 free throws in the final 18 seconds to ice the game and deliver the much need victory for Eastern. 

 

"Austin James just needs to stay aggressive," said McNelley. "I think this season he was thinking too much and deferring to other players. His teammates want him to be aggressive and play his game and he has been as of late."

 

James finished the game as the Eagles leading scorer and posting a double-double with 18 points going 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range shooting (.600) and tallying ten rebounds. Malcolm Garrison tallied 17 points while Hamzeh finished the game with 15 points and going 5-of-5 from 3-point range. Victor Peña rounded out the double-digit scoring netting 11 points of his own.   

 

Donte Ali and Anthony Mitchell each tallied 18 points for FDU-Florham to lead the Devils in scoring. Veon Lassiter rounded out the double-digit scoring with 16 points. 

 

"The win helps us gain some confidence back," concluded McNelley. "We have a huge game on Wednesday night, and the guys will be focused. We are hoping for some huge crowds for our last few home games to help us get over the hump."

 

Eastern hosts King's College on February 6th at 8 pm.