DOYLESTOWN, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball started slowly and dropped an 88-67 decision at Delaware Valley. The Eagles (10-8, 5-2 MAC Freedom) entered the evening with a chance to be atop the MAC Freedom standings at the end of the night, but the host Aggies put forth every every effort to defend their home court and led 43-32 at half.

The Aggies (4-14, 2-5 MAC Freedom) shot 7-of-15 from behind the arc in the first, and used a 10-to-2 run midway through the half to build a double-figure lead that would last for most of the rest of the night. Darius Washington had 10 points at the break and William Blet had eight, but the Eagles were only able to hit  2-of-8 from behind the arc in the opening half.

Eastern's best run came early in the second half. The Eagles rode a 12-to-2 run and cut the Delaware Valley lead to 51-45 with 13:37 on the clock, but the Aggies scored the next 14 points to regain control of the game for good.

"Delawere Valley played with extreme effort for 40 minutes," Head Coach Eric McNelley said after the game. "They dominated on the glass. You will never win on the road in this league with that kind of disparity."

Washington finished with a game-high 19 points. Blet, Victor Peña, and Antonio Chapman each finished with 10 points.

Andre Butler and Austin Chabot each scored 17 points to pace five scorers in double-figures for Delaware Valley. The Aggies shot 52.5 percent for the game and held a commanding 47-30 edge on the glass.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Andre Butler and his family after the loss of his mother earlier this week," McNelley finished. "He played a tremendous game, and his team rallied around him today. It's bigger than basketball. We have the talent to compete at the top of this league, but we are going to have to learn from our recent struggles and step up our effort on a daily basis."

The Eagles have only won at Delaware Valley one time since joining the MAC Freedom.

The Eagles now sit in a three-way tie for second with the next two teams on their schedule. They travel to DeSales on Saturday and will host Misericordia next Wednesday. Wilkes beat Misericordia in overtime tonight and sits atop the MAC Freedom table with just one loss at the midway point.