ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – For the first time since 2010, the Eastern University men's basketball team will put on the white uniforms in the postseason. The Eagles, who finished tied with Delaware Valley atop the MAC Freedom Standings, became the second seed because Delaware Valley split a pair of games with fourth-seeded DeSales and Eastern fell twice to the Bulldogs. Eastern will host the third-seeded Misericordia University Cougars at 7:30 PM.
Eastern emerged with a 112-107 overtime win when the two teams met in St. Davids in January.
Austin Carroll went the length of the floor in the final four seconds of regulation to help the Eagles erase a five-point deficit in the final eight seconds. Victor Peña finished with a team-high 25 points and 16 rebounds to pace five Eagles in double-figures. Misericordia freshman Tony Harding scored a game-high 36 points.
The Eagles won 87-64 in front of a large crowd at Misericordia on Feb. 1.
Shaquan Turk led five Eastern players in double-figures with 23 points. Peña finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds as the Eagles held the Cougars to 24 percent shooting from behind the arc. Misercordia averages 86.4 points per game and boasts the league's top scorer in sophomore guard Jason Kenny. The Eagles average nearly 78 points an outing.
For the first time since 2012, Eastern features several seniors in the primary rotation. Turk and Carroll are four-year starters and
Lincoln Holley and
Tarek Hamzeh each bring experience to the team. Holley is averaging over seven and a half points and six and a half rebounds per game. Hamzeh hit a 3-pointer, his only shot of the game, with under eight seconds left to set up Carroll's heroics in the first meeting.
Peña has emerged as a top-flight scoring threat to complement Turk and fellow sophomore
Austin Duncan also scores in double-figures for the Eagles.
The Cougars start a pair of seniors in Griffin Sponaugle and James Hawk, but they get the bulk of their scoring from Kenny, Harding, and junior-transfer Tre Fields.
The winner of Wednesday's contest will take on the winner of Delaware Valley and DeSales. Those teams split during the year, but Delaware Valley earned the top seed in the tournament with a 76-67 win at DeSales on Saturday. DeSales won 84-72 when the two teams met in January.
Because it is a MAC Championship event, admission will be charged. Tickets will cost $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. Eastern University Student Development is covering the cost of Eastern Students with a current E-Card.
