HOBOKEN, N.J.– Eastern University Men's Basketball was unable to overcome a slow start in dropping a 75-61 decision at Stevens Institute of Technology in a game for the top spot in the MAC Freedom. Draig Ruff finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles.

How It Happened:
Throughout the year, the Eagles have looked at number of assists, post touches, and opponent field goal percentage as critical numbers for success. The Eagles  (14-9, 9-3 MAC Freedom) struggled in all three categories. For the first time all season, they did not put a post player in double-figure scoring. The Ducks (19-4, 10-2 MAC Freedom) shot over 40 percent in both halves, and the Eagles had only seven assists.

Stevens jumped to a 20-10 lead out of the gate and led 33-19 at the half. The Eagles were 7-of-19 from the floor and committed 14 turnovers. The Ducks were 7-of-12 from behind the arc on the way to their lead. Seven different Eastern players scored in the first half, but only Victor Peña (2-for-4) and Gabe Perez (2-for-5) made more than a single basket. Kevin Florio had 12 point on four 3-pointers at the break.

The Eagles shot better in the second half and earned trips to the foul line, but the Stevens' lead only dipped below ten points for two total possessions. When Clifton Adams hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 67-58 with a little more than two minutes left, the Ducks answered back with 3-pointer of their own to bump the lead back to 12 points. The Eagles made 13-of-23 shots after halftime. The Ducks went 14-for-32 with nine offensive rebounds.

Coach Pruessner Says:
"You can't expect to win ball games when we turn the ball over as much as we did. We made simple mistakes and they were more aggressive than we were. they got  20 more shot attempts than we did. Our staff didn't have them ready to play today. We will be ready to play against DeSales on Tuesday. 

Up Next:
The loss drops the Eagles into a tie for second with DeSales. Those two teams meet in Center Valley on Tuesday. The Eagles can lock up a home game in the MAC Freedom Tournament with a winin that game. If Eastern beats DeSales, the Eagles could still get the top seed if Stevens stumbles against King's or FDU-Florham.