ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball overcame an 18-point second-half deficit to earn an 87-80 win over the visiting Widener University Pride. The Eagles (10-2, 3-0) closed out the game the game on a 29-12 run. Kevin Reeves scored ten of his career-high 18 points in the decisive run.

The Pride (6-4, 2-2) shot a stunning 8-of-13 from behind the arc and 20-of-35 overall to build a 49-35 halftime edge. The Widener lead grew to 56-38 on a Dominic Dunn 3-pointer. Dunn finished with 20 points to pace the Pride.

The Eagles chipped at the Widener advantage with a 10-to-2 run over a two and a half minute stretch. Eljay Morris started the run with a lay-up and capped the burst with a resounding dunk. Kaeshawn Ward and Jaron Fairweather each made 3-pointers.

The Eagles briefly cut the Widener lead to seven on inside hoops from Reeves and Olise Onyeka. The Pride found a response with a made free throw, an inside basket from Dunn and a 3-pointer from Pat Holden with 8:15 on the clock.

After an empty possession, the Eagles started a 14-to-1 run with a steal from Fairweather. The senior guard tapped the ball forward for Ward who knocked down a 3-pointer in transition to close the gap to 71-61. The Pride hit a free throw with 6:56 on the clock.

The Eagles increased their defensive pressure and began to force turnovers.  Eljay Morris scored inside and Sam Gallardo popped a ball free. Ward hit a tough jumper.  The Pride missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Ward flipped in a lay-up in traffic. Ward finished the game with 12 points and six assists.

The Eastern defense forced another turnover and for a Sam Gallardo free throw and Jaron Fairweather ripped his fifth steal of the game and finished at the other end to pull the Eagles to within a basket with five minutes on the clock. Fairweather finished with a. Game-high 24 points and added four assists and a blocked shot.

Reeves then took over. The senior captain from Chester, Pa. tied the game with a put-back of his own miss. The Pride retook the lead on an inside hoop, but Reeves again had the answer. Gallardo missed a lay-up in traffic but Reeves finished the put-bask while taking a heavy challenge. He made the free throw for a 75-74 lead.

Gallardo found Reeves with a clever pass for a 77-74. Widener hit two more free throws before Reeves finished again to put the Eagles up 79-76 and force a Widener timeout. Out of the break, Reeves blocked a Widener shot and set up Fairweather for a lay-up in transition.

The Eagles got the ball back with 90 seconds to play and worked a long possession. Ward earned the lane with a drive and pitched a pass out. Eljay Morris made the extra pass and Fairweather put the Eagles up 84-76 with a minute to play.

The Eagles made their free throws down the stretch to secure their tenth win of the semester. Eastern shot 61. 3 percent from the floor after halftime and held Widener to just 3-of-11 from behind the arc after the intermission. The Eagles scored 24 points off turnovers and despite being out-rebounded in the game had a 13-to-6 edge in second-chance points.

Morris finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. He was 9-of-13 from the floor. Fairweather was also 9-of-13, but he made a pair of long-range efforts and was 4-of-5 from the foul line.

"K-Reeves was huge for us today," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "He just plays big. He made plays at both ends and just took over at a key time. We take pride in our defense, but we had to look inside ourselves at halftime. We knew they could shoot it, and they took advantage of some of our aggressiveness and ripped us apart for the first 20 minutes. We were able to make some adjustments and do a much better job contesting shots after halftime. I'm not thrilled with the rebounding margin, but I was proud of the way we battled back and executed down the stretch."

The Eagles are off for finals and the holidays and will return to action at Alvernia on Jan. 4.