Box Score ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball led by as many as 23 points in the second half, but needed a pair if late free throws from Austin James and a defensive stop on the final play of the game to secure a 75-72 win over the visiting Manhattanville College Valiants. The Eagles (10-7, 5-1 MAC Freedom) made 9-of-16 first half 3-pointers to lead 47-27 at the break.

Eastern's hot start was not unusual. The Eagles have made 38-of-62 (61.2%) from behind the arc in the first half of the team's four home league games this year. Today, Austin James and Darius Washington each made three long-range efforts, Austin Duncan added a pair and Antonio Chapman hit the ninth one. The Valiants, meanwhile, scuffled to 2-of-16 shooting from behind the arc.

For the first 20 minutes, the Eagles were able to get whatever shots they wanted and had only four turnovers and 14 assists on their 18 made baskets. 

It looked like the second half would have more of the same when Chapman caught a pass from James and buried his second 3-pointer for a 50-27 lead. When Victor Peña went to the bench with his fourth foul with nearly fifteen minutes to play, the Eagles still held a 53-35 edge, but Manhattanville senior, Alex Tuci, took advantage of the extra space without Peña inside and started to go to work. Tuci, who reached 1000 points for his career today, scored all 19 of his points in the second half. Manhattanville used a 20-to-4 run to trim the Eastern lead to 56-49 with just over ten minutes to play in regulation.

Washington, who finished with a team-high 16 points, hit a 3-pointer to stop the run and added a pair of free throws to keep the lead at ten for moment before Manhattanville used a 9-to-2 run to get the game to a single-possession affair with six minutes left. Eastern, however, never surrendered the lead, and built the lead back to 73-67 on Chapman's fourth 3-pointer of the game.

The Eagles had a pair of empty possessions and Manhttanville again closed the lead to a single point with 25 seconds to play before the Eagles broke the Valiant press and put the ball in Austin James' hands. James, who shoots nearly 80 percent for his career, made both and forced the Valiants to try for a 3-pointer to tie. Manhattanville missed the first one, but the rebound caromed off an Eastern defender with six seconds to play. Austin Duncan secured his sixth defensive rebound of the afternoon on the next miss to end the game.

"A lot of credit goes to the Manhattanville team and coaches," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game. "They never quit on the game and they turned it into a battle. It seems like that happens every time we play. They play hard and you cannot relax with the ball. Even so, we come away with a win. We are very pleased about that. William Blet made some great plays for us with five assists and five blocks, and we were able enough plays to win."

Peña, saddled with foul trouble throughout, played only 21 minutes but still scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pick up his seventh double-double of the year. James finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Sean Smith finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Valiants (7-10, 1-5 MAC Freedom).

The Eagles are tied with Misericordia and Wilkes, those two teams will play each other at Misericordia on Wednesday. Eastern, meanwhile, will finish the first half of its MAC Freedom slate at Delaware Valley on Wednesday.