READING, Pa. – It was not stylish, but Eastern University Men's Basketball found a way to stretch its winning streak to ten games. The Eagles used a late 7-0 run to earn a 63-61 MAC Commonwealth win at Albright. Kaeshawn Ward hit a crucial 3-pointer late and finished with a game high 17 points as the Eagles remain unbeaten in league play.

The Eagles (11-2, 6-0) took a 33-28 lead to the half, but went nearly seven full minutes without a field goal to start the second half. Josh Grant finally ended the drought with a transition basket with 13:02 on the clock. Fortunately for the Eagles, their work at the defensive end was solid enough to keep them alive while the offense struggled.

Grant's lay-up sparked a 7-0 Eastern run that put the Eagles up 41-39 when Jairus Carroll hit a 3-pointer from the wing. The Lions (6-8, 2-4) leveled the score before Sam Gallardo answered with his first 3-pointer of the game. Gallardo finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.

The Eagles held a 49-47 lead with nine minutes to play, and Head Coach Dan Pruessner called a timeout to draw up a play. Out of the time-out, the play quickly broke down, but Gallardo found the smallest window of space late in the shot clock and hit a 3-pointer while getting fouled. The junior guard converted the four-point play to put the Eagles up by six.

"We just found a way to make plays," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said while shaking his head. "We did not do a great job running our offense and we were too careless with the ball, but we had guys make big plays in critical moments to bail us out. Some of that might be the guys coming back from protocols not being is sync, but we need to get better in our execution and our identity."

The momentum from Gallardo's big shot, however, was short-lived. The Lions took advantage of a trio of empty Eastern possessions to reclaim the lead with a 7-0 run. Albright led 59-56 with 3:41 on the clock. Carroll found a little seam and attacked the basket to close the gap to a point.

Over the next two and a half minutes, neither team could score.  The Lions seemed to have a run-out basket for a three-point lead, but Jaron Fairweather chased back and blocked the shot at the rim. Fairweather celebrated his 21st birthday with nine points, five rebounds, three assists, a block, and a win.

The game broke in the Eagles favor when Ward grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed 3-pointer late in the clock. The board was his tenth of the game. He immediately attacked the basket and drew the foul. A subsequent technical foul gave the Eagles four free throws. While they only hit two, the Eagles grabbed the lead for good with that stretch.

Carroll picked off an errant pass to give the Eagles the ball and Ward connected on the long-range attempt for a four-point lead with 20 seconds to play. Albright scored a lay-up at the buzzer for the final margin.

The first half saw both teams struggle from the floor early as well. Albright led 8-6 after ten minutes before both teams found their offensive rhythm to close the half.

The Eagles will host York College on Saturday at 3:00 pm.