CLINTON, N.Y.–Eastern University Men's Basketball saw its three-winning streak snapped with a  99-87 loss at Hamilton College on Saturday evening. The Eagles shot 52.4 percent from the floor for the game, but the host Continentals (6-0) made 30 free throws and hit 11 3-pointers to hold off a late Eastern charge.

Hamilton stretched a five point halftime lead to 17 at the midpoint of the second half before the Eagles used a 21-10 run to close the gap to 81-75 with 6:40 to play in the game. Darius Washington capped the run with a 3-pointer off a good pass from Anthony Concepcion. Austin James had five points in the stretch.

The Eagles closed the gap to four points less than two minutes later when Concepcion found Gabs Perez cutting to the basket for a three-point play. Perez scored a team-high 19 points with only seven shots from the floor. The sophomore forward made 6-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the foul line.

The Continentals showed their experience and quality down the stretch as they converted after a trio of empty Eastern possessions and bumped the lead back to double figures and held on for the win.

"This was a great road trip for our guys," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game.  We are disappointed with the loss, but we grew from these two games. Gabe, Jordan Johnson and William Blet have given us tremendous depth inside. Once we get Victor Peña back, we will be tough to play. We had a hard time keeping them off the offensive glass, and they took advantage of a couple turnovers down the stretch.

McNelley pointed to the play of Darius Washington on the perimeter as another reason for optimism. The junior guard scored 12 of his 17 points before halftime to keep the Eagles in the game. He scored nine consecutive points on a 3-pointer, a four-point play, and a contested jumper to trim a ten-point Hamilton lead to one in less than two minutes.

Blet made all five of his field goal attempts in the first half and finished with a  career-best 17 points. The Eastern bench outscored their counterparts by a 44-26 margin. Though the Eagles shot 55.6 from the field in the first half, they still trailed 45-40. The Continentals forged the lead on the strength of 8-of-14 shooting from behind the arc in the first half.

Johnson scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game. He is shooting 71.4 percent from the floor for the year. He, Perez, and Let shot 19-of-24 (79.2%) from the floor for the game.

The Eagles will have a few days to recover before playing at Immaculata University next Saturday.

"As a staff we are extremely excited about this team," McNelley concluded.  "We look forward to a great week of practice and getting better."