ST. DAVIDS, Pa.–Before this evening's MAC Freedom home game against Misericordia, Head Coach Eric McNelley shared a brief story that a former student-athlete shared in Eastern's Chapel this morning. The student shared some of his challenges and encouraged those that were experiencing doubt and frustration to commit to stay at the table.

The men's basketball season has had a five-game winning streak and a five-game losing streak. McNelley, thinking in terms of the season, challenged his team to work through struggles and 'stay at the table' with the team. His pregame words proved useful as his team saw an 11-point second-half lead vanish in a matter of minutes and trailed by five with 12 seconds to play.

The Eagles (7-7, 2-1 MAC Freedom) rallied late, tied the game at 97-97 on a last second shot from Austin Carroll and won 112-107 in overtime. Victor Peña finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, both career-highs, to lead the Eagles in the win.

The Eagles shot the ball well in the first half and held a 40-27 lead fifteen minutes into the game. The Cougars (10-4, 1-2 MAC Freedom) scored seven points in less than a minute on a 3-pointer from Tre Fields and four free throws. Eastern recovered on a layup from Marquise Peel and a 3-pointer from Carroll to lead by nine with two minutes to play in the half. Misericordia outscored the Eagles 4-1 over the final two minutes and the teams went to the intermission with Eastern leading 46-40.

Peña had 10 points and six rebounds to lead the Eagles at halftime.

"Victor is growing up," McNelley said of his sophomore center after the game. "As he is getting healthy, he keeps getting better every day. His best basketball is still ahead of him." Peña has three consecutive double-doubles to start league play, and he has seen his point and rebound totals go up in each game. He has four double-doubles on the year.

It looked like neither team was going to miss another shot when the second half started. The teams combined for 19 points on the first eight possesions of the second half. The Eagles finally put together a pair of stops and pushed their lead to 11 on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from Austin Duncan, a pair of free throws from Lincoln Holley and a driving layup from Carroll.

The Cougars cut into the lead gradually, but the Eagles put together a quick six-point burst to lead 74-63 with 10:46 on the clock.

Then the game became very difficult for the Eagles. The high-scoring Cougars strung together some stops and flipped the tables on the game with a 19-1 run over a four minute stretch. Misericordia freshman Tony Harding hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the burst. Harding finished with a game-high 36 points.

McNelley called a timeout in the middle of the run an urged his team to stick with each possession.

"It did not turn around right at the timeout," McNelley said, "but we just told them to keep after each possession. We had to keep fighting for every one."

Peña started an eight-point rally with a three-point play and put the Eagles up 84-83 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The two teams traded baskets, and Carroll tied the game at 90 with a layup in traffic with two and a half minutes left in regulation.

The Cougars outscored Eastern 7-2 over the next two minutes to hold a five-point edge with 22 seconds left. When Shaquan Turk's 3-point attempt rimmed out with 13 seconds left, the game seemed out of reach.

After a pair of missed free throws, Carroll found Tarek Hamzeh on the left wing for an open 3-pointer. Hamzeh, who recently graduated with honors and is now enrolled in graduate school, buried the 3-pointer to force the Cougars to make foul shots. Harding missed a pair, and Turk secured the rebound and instantly asked for a timeout with 4.3 seconds to play.

"We had a play set up with several options," McNelley said of the final four seconds. "What we wanted most to play downhill. We knew that they were not going to want to foul. Austin kept going, and he got it off in time." Carroll's shot hung on the rim as the lights in the backboard came on.

The two teams traded leads early in the overtime period, but the Cougars, playing without two regulars, lost two players to fouls, and Turk and Peña took over for the Eagles. Turk had six points, three rebounds, and an assist in the overtime. Peña hit his third 3-pointer of the night and sealed the game with a steal and two free throws late.

Turk finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Duncan had 18 points, and Carroll had 14 points and eight assists. Lincoln Hooley finished with 13 points. All ten players who saw time for the Eagles scored at least one basket and grabbed at least one rebound. After making only 2-of-7 3-pointers in the first half, the Eagles made 8-of-14 in the second half and overtime.

Tre Fields had 24 points and Noah Rivera had 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Cougars.

"This was a great team win for us," McNelley said after the game. "We kept after it when things started to go the wrong way. I'm proud of these guys."

The Eagles will travel to Wilkes-Barre to play Wilkes on Saturday.