CENTER VALLEY, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball dropped an 89-63 decision at DeSales in a rematch of last season's MAC Freedom semifinal. The host Bulldogs (7-0) closed out the first half on a 19-to-7 run to build what would become an insurmountable edge. Kaeshawn Ward  led the Eagles with 15 points, and Sam Gallardo added 13 points and three steals.

The bigger Bulldogs controlled the paint at both ends of the floor and were able to get good looks from the perimeter when the Eagles tried to help against players in the post. DeSales hit 5-of-12 from behind the arc and 19-of-36 from the floor overall and had 10 offensive rebounds through the opening 20 minutes.

Jaron Fairweather led the Eagles with 7 points at intermission, but the Eagles made just 41 percent from the floor and made just one trip to the foul line.

While the Eagles shot marginally better (15-of-35), the Bulldogs continued to hold a commanding lead on the glass and kept Eastern at arm's length through the finish.

"With our size right now, we have to try to speed the game up," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game,  "We created some turnovers and some points off turnovers, but they were able to handle pressure and convert. We saw some good things out of Everett [Lewis] and Juliyen [Johnson] off the bench and Kaeshawn has shown he is able to score consistently."

This is the first time the two teams have played as non-conference opponents since 1985. The Bulldogs own a 16-11 mark since Eastern joined the MAC in 2008.

The two teams will meet in St. Davids for the return leg tomorrow at 7:00 pm.

As a reminder, per MAC regulations, spectators are not permitted at MAC athletic events. The game will be streamed live and will have livestats.