ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball used a 24-to-1 run bracketing the halftime break to break open a big lead and cruised to a 102-72 home win over the Albright College Lions. Draig Cooley posted a career-best 31 points in 23 minutes to lead the Eagles to their 16th win of the year. 

Cooley was out with in jury when the two teams met in Reading in early January. The Eagles (16-4, 11-2) struggled to a 63-61 win in that game. The senior guard seemed intent on making an impact from the start. He scored the first two Eastern baskets and was active on the boards and in the passing lanes. The Eagles used a 9-to0 run to open up a 17-7 lead with thirteen minutes left in the first half. Terron Bacon hit a 3-pointer and found a cutting Kevin Reeves for another easy basket. 

The Lions (10-11, 5-8) hung around. Even with the Eagles shooting nearly 50 percent in the early going, it was a four-point game at 26-22 with a little more than seven minutes to play in the half. A 16-to-2 run pushed the Eastern lead to 42-24, but the Lions found a glimmer of hope with a 7-to-0 run in answer, but the Eagles scored five points in the final six second of the half to lead by 16 at the break. Jaron Fairweather put back a Kaeshawn Ward miss and Sam Gallardo stole a long pass and banked in a 40-footer at the buzzer. 

The Eagles shot 48.6 percent from the floor in the first half and were 10-of-12 from the foul line. Cooley had 12 points, Fairweather had 11, and Gallardo had ten. Albright was just 12-of-31 and only 1-of-5 from behind the arc. 

Albright scored a free throw on the first possession of the second half. The Eagles then had a shot-clock violation on the next possession. 

Then the floodgates opened. Jaron Fairweather started the 19-to-0 run with a three-point play. Cooley scored ten points in the burst. He scored another six points before six minutes had elapsed in the second half. The Eagles led 74-34 with 14 minutes left and Cooley had 28 in the books. He capped his night with a basket and a free throw with a little less than nine minutes to play. His numbers for the night were astounding. He was 11-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the line. He grabbed a game-high ten rebounds and had four assists, two steals and two blocks. He drew ten fouls in the game and was a plus 37 in 23 minutes on the floor.

Fairweather quietly put together a monster game as well. The junior forward scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but after the game, the coaching staff and teammates all were talking about his defense. Fairweather took on the task of facing Sidney Brown, who came into the game averaging over 16 points per game. Brown finished with five points. His only field goal came with the Eagles up 42 and Fairweather on the bench.

The coaching staff was very pleased with the way the group of reserves closed out the game. Josiah Scarlett hit a pair of 3-pointers and Jayden Smith scored five points. Olutobi Akinbayo scored three points and Everett Lewis added a highlight-reel bucket. 

"It was really good to see some guys who don't see regular minutes get in there and play in front of a great home crowd," Dan Pruessner said after the game. "Those guys, Kevin Reeves, Alejandro Martinez, and Davin Hernandez have been really good in practice over the year. It is not easy picking up two new offenses every week. They make us better. They deserved this shot and played well."

Scarlett hit a 3-pointer late to put the Eagles into three digits for the first time since beating Goucher in November of 2017. The Eagles travel to Hood College to take on a the MAC Commonwealth leading Blazers at 3:00 pm this Saturday. Hood kept pace tonight with a 30-point home win over York.