DALLAS, Pa.– Senior forward Victor Peña scored his 1000th career point and Eastern University Men's Basketball picked up another tough road victory in the MAC Freedom with a 63-61 win at Misericordia University. The Eagles had a 16-point lead with five minutes to play and needed a big defensive stand in the final 17 seconds to improve to 9-7 on the year and into a three-way tie atop the league.
How It Happened:
The Eagles struggled to find their shooting range early in the game and converted just 10-of-28 shots from the floor on the way to a 28-24 halftime lead. Peña scored on a tough three-point play with 7:20 on the clock to put the Eagles up 20-17. Needing four points coming into the game to hit the milestone, Peña hit 3-of-4 free throws in the early going to get to 999 points for his career.
Peña missed most of the year last year and the first six games this year with a knee injury. He finished the day with eight points and five rebounds.
The Eagles used a 10-to-2 run over a three minute stretch to push an eight-point edge to a 60-44 lead with five minutes to play.
Clifton Adams sparked the run with his second 3-pointer of the game and
Gabe Perez capped the burst with a three-point play inside. Adams finished with 11 points and Perez ended the day with ten.
Up 16, the Eagles had a chance to stretch the lead, but a corner 3-pointer from Perez rimmed out and
Draig Ruff picked up a loose-ball foul on the rebound. With Ruff picking up his fourth and heading to the bench, the Eagles gave up seven points in less than a minute.
With the home crowd getting into the game, the Eagles struggled to get into offense and convert at the foul line. The Eagles made 11 of their first 12 foul shots in the game but missed all three front ends and six in a row as the Cougars hit from distance and cut into the Eastern lead.
Michael Bowlers finally snapped the string of missed foul shots when he hit the second of two with 50 seconds to play. A turnover on the sideline gave the Cougars a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession. A good defensive set forced a contested 3-pointer from deep. The Cougars had another chance on an offensive rebound and a contested 12-footer, but the final shot hit the front of the rim and the Eagles picked up their second road win in the league.
Terron Bacon had nine and Bowlers had eleven and
Sam Gallardo as the three combined for 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting off the bench.
William Blet finished with a game-high ten rebounds. Ruff finished with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Noah Rivera scored 22 points to pace the Cougars.
Coach Pruessner Says:
"It was great to see Vic get his 1,000th point. He has gone through so much to get back and compete. The whole team is really happy for him."
"We played really well for 35 minutes. We did not hit shots in the first half, but we got the looks we were looking for and in the second half they started to fall. We did a great job executing our defensive game plan and held them to 8-of-32 from behind the arc."
"We got in trouble late with a few missed defensive rebounds and turnovers that cost us. We hit our free throws early, but we really struggled down the stretch. Momentum is a funny thing."
"Mike did a great job around the rim on both ends of the floor. He was efficient with 5-of-5 shooting and came up with a couple great plays on defense."
"We have a great opportunity these next two games. Our guys are ready for the challenge and are looking forward to competing at home."
Up Next:
With DeSales dropping a game at Stevens Institute of Technology tonight, Eastern moved into a three-way tie for the top spot with Stevens and DeSales. Eastern hosts Stevens on Saturday and DeSales next Wednesday.
