FREDERICK, Md.– After trailing 35-33 at halftime, Eastern University Men's Basketball used stifling defense and solid free throw shooting to pull away to a 79-65 win at Hood College in a rematch of last year's MAC Commonwealth Championship game. Sam Gallardo scored 13 of his team-high 20 in the second half. Zubair Lee grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked five shots to lead a strong defensive effort.

In the decisive second-half, the Eagles made 16-of-19 from the line and held the host Blazers to only 1-of-12 from behind the arc.

After the teams traded baskets early in the second half, Gallardo scored seven-straight points to cap a 9-0 run that put the Eagles up for good. The senior guard had a lay-up, 3-pointer, and two free throws for a 46-39 lead with fifteen minutes left.

The Blazers cut the lead four with twelve minutes to play when Kevin Reeves hit a contested 3-pointer to restore the seven-point lead and start an 11-7 Eastern run. Eljay Morris scored an inside basket and Nick Mate hit two 3-pointers to bump the Eastern lead to eight. Mate was 4-for-7 from behind the arc in the game. The first-year guard finished with 13 points an assist and a steal in 13 minutes off the bench.

As the game wound down, the Eagles were patient on offense and never allowed the Blazers to score unanswered points. In the bonus early, the Eagles shot free throws with confidence and made 12-of-14 over the final nine minutes of the game.

While they had just five second-half turnovers, the Eagles pulled away six steals and converted eight offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points. The Blazers went 9-of-9 from the foul line in the second half, but as a team, they shot well below their average from behind the arc. Hood (5-4, 2-1) came into the game averaging over 11 made 3-pointers per game and was shooting 36 percent from behind the arc. The Blazers finished the game with just four makes on 24 attempts.

"We got a lot of good contributions tonight," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "Jairus Carroll came on and did a lot of things that won't show up in the scorebook. He gave us some defensive flexibility and did a good job breaking down the zone. Nick hit some long shots to make them extend. They did everything they could to keep Zubair off the glass and he still got 17. As the game wore down, we were able to grind out possessions and have the poise to get good shots and offensive rebounds. Sam made some big shots in the second half."

The Eagles (9-2, 2-0) went up 30-20 when Kaeshawn Ward beat the shot clock with a 3-point shot with five minutes to play in the first half. The Blazers then put together a 12-to-0 run over a three minute stretch to grab a late lead. Gallardo stopped the run with a transition 3-pointer late, but Hood finished the half with a 3-pointer to take a lead to the break. Ward made a pair of first-half 3-pointers and led the Eagles with eight points at the break.

Eljay Morris finished with ten points and seven rebounds and Jaron Fairweather had 12 points, and four steals. Trumaine Strickland scored a game-high 25 to lead the Blazers.

The Eagles won both regular-season match-ups against Hood last year, but the Blazers emerged with a 75-71 win in the title match. Hood will make the return trip to St. Davids on January 28. For both mileage and time, the trip between Eastern and Hood is the longest trip in the Conference.

The Eagles will wrap up their semester with a home game against Widener this Saturday at 3:00 pm. The Pride, (6-2, 2-0) will host Stevenson tomorrow night.