ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball honored its five seniors before its home game against the league-leading DeSales University Bulldogs. After falling behind early, the Eagles rallied throughout the second half, but their comeback efforts fell short as the Bulldogs made their free throws down the stretch and held on for a 74-68 win.

How It Happened:
The Eagles (15-9, 9-4 MAC Freedom) struggled from the floor in the early going and trailed 38-25 at halftime. The DeSales lead stayed in double-digits until the midpoint of the of the second half. Even then, the Eagles trailed 59-50 with seven minutes left.

Darius Washington hit a tough jumper from the wing to spark an 8-to-2 Eastern run  to close the deficit to 61-58 with four minutes left. Despite coming up with stops on the next two possessions, the Eagles were not able to get over that hurdle.

After a second Eastern turnover, Julian Wing hit a pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the DeSales lead back to six points and effectively ice the game. The Bulldogs (18-6, 11-2 MAC Freedom) secured the MAC Freedom Regular Season Title with the win.

The five seniors, Khari Gatson, Brennan Kastens, Austin Duncan, Marquise Peel, and Darius Washington started the game together. That group has been part of 30 MAC Freedom wins in the lst three years. Peel hit a jumper six and a half minutes into the game to pull the Eagles within a basket at 10-8.

The Bulldogs answered and Head Coach Eric McNelley moved back into some more typical rotations. DeSales put in a 17-to-2 run that would put the Eagles behind for the rest of the game. DeSales hit three 3-pointers in the burst and made 6-of-12 from distance on the way to halftime.

Nine different Bulldogs scored in the opening half. Michael Bowlers had six points, but the Eastern offense was only 9-of-27 from the floor and had 13 first-half turnovers.

The Eagles won the battle on the boards in the second half and reduced the turnovers dramatically, but the double-digit lead proved to be too big of a hill to climb.

Washington finished with 16 points and three blocked shots. Bowlers had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Duncan finished with 10 points.

Coach McNelley Says:
"We did not change our game plan defensively in the second half, but we did have a much better attitude defending the 3-point line. They hit a couple tough ones in the first half. Ones where we had good contests up, but we also had some breakdowns."

"DeSales is not the team you want to play from behind against. They are going to execute and get shots. Congrats to them on securing the top seed. I was pleased with the way we fought in the second half. We had a couple plays there late where a break goes our way and we can tie it up. That being said, we did not do enough in the middle of the first half to give ourselves a margin of error."

"I am very proud of who this senior class is and how they have grown with the program. Their growth has played a major role in the our success and I am grateful for each of them."

Up Next:
Eastern travels to Misericordia on Saturday for a final regular-season home game. Eastern can finish second, third, or fourth depending on results from Saturday. Wilkes plays at FDU-Florham. The Colonels will lock up the second seed with a win in Madison. Eastern will be second with a win at Misericordia and a Wilkes loss. The Eagles would be third if Wilkes wins and DeSales beats DelVal.  Eastern would be fourth with a loss and a Del Val win at DeSales.