SWARTHMORE, Pa.– In the team's final non-league game of the season, Eastern University Men's Basketball dropped an 85-70 decision at No. 23 Swarthmore College. Michael Bowlers scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the second half to lead the Eagles.

In dealing with internal discipline issues, the Eagles(7-6) played the first half without several regulars. The bigger Garnet had  16-10 edge in points in the paint in building a 46-25 lead at the break. William Blet hit all four of his free throw attempts and led the Eagles with eight points at the break.

"We needed to sit some key players for tardiness to practice to reestablish a culture we have worked hard to create," Head Coach Eric McNelley said. "Although we lost the game and got down big in the first half I feel we accomplished a lot this afternoon. We got good minutes from reserves Joe Ortiz, Terron Bacon, Khari Gatson and Gabe Perez today. They are a big part of this program and work extremely hard. They deserved the minutes today."

The Eagles brought great energy and fight to the second half and outscored the Garnet (10-2) by six after the break.

Bowlers played a big part. The junior forward was 7-of-10 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds in his 17 minutes. With Bowlers doing work inside, Austin Duncan found some room on the perimeter. The senior guard scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half.

The Eagles used a 12-0 run at the midpoint of the second half to close the gap to 70-59 with 6:25 to play. Bowlers had seven in the run and Draig Ruff hit a 3-pointer. The talented Garnet were able to stabilize and hit free throws down the stretch for the win.

"At halftime we focused on us." McNelley continued. "We wanted to focus on some statistical categories that propelled us to a 6-1 start on the season. I'm proud of the effort we had in the second half. We hit all of those marks. We made it interesting down the stretch, but Swarthmore stayed composed and closed the game out. They are a very good team."

"Overall we are disappointed with our 7-6 record," McNelley concluded. "But know we have faced adversity early in this season. We move into conference play and have 12 critical games left. We have been here before. I expect our guys to step up and close this season out the right way. We will enjoy a day off and focus on FDU on Monday"

Eastern will play FDU-Florham at home on Wednesday at 6:00 pm.