ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern University Men's Basketball jumped out to an early 17-5 lead but had to battle for a full 40 minutes to earn a 69-60 win over the visiting Manhattanville College Valiants. The Eagles (15-8, 10-2 MAC Freedom), who led for the final 39 minutes of the game, remain alone in the top spot of the MAC Freedom standings. Victor Peña had 17 points and 15 rebounds for his fifth-consecutive double-double.

The win sets up a game at Delaware Valley on Tuesday where the Eagles can secure a home playoff game for the first time since 2010. Eastern last made the MAC Freedom Tournament in 2012.

Early on, it was Austin Duncan running the show. The sophomore guard had ten points on five shots in the first eight and a half minutes. His 3-pointer from the wing put the Eagles up 17-5. Duncan finished the game with 14 points.

"It is good to see Austin [Duncan] getting healthy again," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game. "He has been battling through some injuries, and he looked more explosive today. That is big for us going down the stretch."

The game slowed down, and the Valiants clawed back in the game. Alex Tuci cut the Eastern lead to 22-21 with a three-point play with six minutes remaining in the half. Shaquan Turk answered with a 3-pointer off a high ball-screen to give the Eagles a little breathing room. The teams traded baskets until Peña scored in the post and on a 3-pointer to start a 6-0 run to finish the half. Peña, who had nine points and nine rebounds at half, was 4-for-4 from the floor in the opening period. He is shooting 57 percent from behind the arc.

"Vic is playing really well, " McNelley noted. "Our whole team was good on the defensive glass, but he was really impressive in the first half. He is getting better each day."

The Eastern lead grew to 15 points midway through the second half, and the lead seemed safe. The Valiants, who still clung to faint post-season hopes coming into the day, got back-to-back 3-pointers from Tuci and started to claw back. Manhattanville trimmed the deficit to 65-58 with 96 seconds to play, but Austin Carroll made his free throws down the stretch, and the Eagles held on.

"I think when we went up 15, we got a little complacent," McNelley said. "They his a couple threes and we turned the ball over and all of a sudden we needed to get our energy level back up. Ace made the free throws down the stretch, but we were not as good at the line as we need to be."

Carroll was 6-for-7 from the line in the second half, but the Eagles were only 12-of-18. After half, Eastern was 11-of-21 from the floor, and the Valiants shot just 12-of-32.

At this point, Eastern leads Delaware Valley and DeSales by a game. those two teams will play each other on the final day of the season. DeSales hosts Misericordia on Tuesday. The Eagles can secure a home game with a win and would secure the top seed with a win and a DeSales loss.

"I don't want to really think about any of that," McNelly concluded. "We just need to keep getting better and play well at Delaware Valley."