ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern University Men's Basketball held off a second-half run from the visiting Messiah University Falcons and pulled away to an 84-73 win in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals. Jaron Fairweather scored a career-high 25 to lead the Eagles. Eastern will host second-seeded Hood College in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game on Sunday at 2;00 pm.

The Eagles (21-4) scorched the nets on the way to a 48-34 lead at the break. It seemed that the visiting Falcons were on fire from behind the arc with 6-of-13 shooting through the first 20 minutes. The Eagles, however, were better. Five different Eagles hit from distance and the team went 7-of-9. Fairweather was 2-of-2 and Sam Gallardo made one. Joshua Grant, Davin Hernandez, and Kevin Reeves combined four 4-for-4 from distance. Reeves hit two 3-pointers and had a huge put-back basket and foul shot for nine first-half points.

The Eastern edge grew to 18 points on a Draig Cooley 3-pointers early in the second half. The Falcons (11-13) stopped the bleeding, but the Eagles still held a 15-point edge when Kaeshawn Ward stepped behind a William Blet screen and buried a 3-pointer from in front of the Eastern student section with 13 minutes left.

Over the next eight minutes, the Falcons put together a 16-to-4 run and pulled to within a single possession. Matt Glogowski had six points and the Eagles were 1-for-11.

With five minutes left, the Eagles came out of a timeout and seemed to draw another empty possession when Blet's jump shot rimmed out. Cooley battled for the board and was pulled down and the Eagles got the ball and a fresh 20 to shoot.

Fairweather hit a huge 17-footer to change momentum and restore a two-possession edge. After earning a stop at the other end, it was Blet's chance to make a play. The newest member of Eastern's thousand-point club tipped in a Cooley miss to stretch the advantage back to seven.

Ward ripped a ball free and fired ahead for Fairweather to push the Eastern lead back to nine with three minutes to play. Ward finished with 12 points,  three steals, three assists and no turnovers. The sophomore point guard has not ball over in his last 100 minutes on the court. He made 7-of-8 from the line down the stretch to help seal the game.

"Jaron's shot was huge," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "We needed to see something go in the basket. Once he hit that shot, I think we all relaxed and were able to get stops and scores. Draig was big again tonight. He had twenty-one and ten with four assists and a couple steals. He was able to get to the basket. He drew seven fouls but only shot four free throws, but I think that kind of pressure opened up shots for other guys."

The Eagles shot 59 percent from floor in the first half but only made 9-of-24 from the floor in the second. Unlike the first meeting between the two teams this year, the Eagles were able to convert from the foul line. They made 15-of-19 in the second half.

Cooley opened the scoring in the game before the Falcons scored the next five points. The Eagles took the lead for good on Fairweather's first 3-pointer of the game with just over two minutes gone. Cooley and Fairweather combined for the first 16 Eastern points. Fairweather had 16 and Cooley had 12. Both forwards missed only one shot in the half.

William Blet had five of his six assists in the first half. He finished the game with six points and seven rebounds and a big blocked shot. Tyler Penley led the Falcons with 16 points.

Eastern will play Hood on Sunday afternoon for the MAC Commonwealth Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It is the first MAC Commonwealth Championship game for both programs. Eastern reached the MAC Freedom Championship game in 2020. Hood advanced to the title game with a 90-77 home win over sixth-seeded Widener.

Because Sunday's Championship is a MAC event, admission will be charged. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2 for students. Children under six are free. Eastern student development will cover the cost of tickets for Eastern students with a current Ecard.