PURCHASE, N.Y.– Fueled by a 14-0 run to start the second half, Eastern University Men's Basketball ran past the host Manhattanville College Valiants, 79-63. The win is the fifth-straight for the the Eagles (10-7, 5-1 MAC Freedom), who are tied with the Delaware Valley Aggies atop the MAC Freedom standings. Shaquan Turk scored 22 points and Victor Peña had his second-consecutive 20-point outing.

The Valiants scored the first five points of the game. Eastern then scored the next 22. Turk provided a highlight with a breakaway dunk over a Manhattanville defender. The 17-point lead, however, was short-lived. The Valiants chipped away at the lead and cut the Eastern lead to 33-32 with with two minutes to play. Peña hit a 3-pointer and Turk had a breakaway dunk, but the Valiants again closed the gap with the final four points of the half.

"We were letting our offensive success negatively impact us on the defensive end," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game. "We jumped out the early lead and we lost our commitment to our defensive principles. We gave up too many offensive rebounds because we did not finish our possessions. We did a better job at the start of the second half."

The Eastern defense held the host Valiants without a point for the first six and a half minutes of the second half. Turk provided another highlight dunk on a perfect lob pass from Austin Carroll on the way to a 16-point lead. The Valiants cut the deficit to single-digits for one possession with just under nine minutes to play, but a foul and a technical foul on the same play resulted in four Eastern free throws and moved the momentum back in the Eagles' favor.

The Eagles shot 50 percent from the floor (12-of-24) and 16-of-20 from the foul line in the second half. Peña scored 12 of his 20 points after the intermission. Since returning from injury at the start of the conference season, the sophomore center has averaged 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 6-of-8 from the 3-point line. He had eight rebounds today.

Turk finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and three blocks. He is at 1498 points for his career.

The five-consecutive wins matches the Eagles highest streak, set earlier this year, since 2009. The Eagles won five consecutive league games in 2012, but had a non-league loss to Cabrini in the middle of that streak. The Eagles, who have won three-straight road games, will host Delaware Valley to close the opening half of the MAC Freedom season.