YORK, Pa.– In an ordinary year in an ordinary conference, a team tied for the top spot could expect a relatively easy ride when traveling to a team sitting alone in the bottom spot. This, however, is not an ordinary year, and the MAC Commonwealth is not an ordinary league. Eastern University Men's Basketball fell behind the York College Spartans early, and despite shooting nearly 68 percent in the second half could not close the gap to single digits and fell 89-78. 

The Spartans (9-9, 3-6) came into the game off a win at Hood, and earlier in the month they took No.7 Christopher Newport to overtime before falling, 75-72. York shot 16-of-30 from the floor in both halves and made 13 3-pointers. 

Through the first half, the Spartans had more offensive rebounds than the Eagles had defensive boards. The combination of hot shooting and second-chance points, had the hosts up by 20 late in the first half. Jaron Fairweather made the final basket of the first half, but the York led 46-28 at the break. The Eagles were only 11-of-29 from the floor and 4-of-10 from the foul line.

In the second half, the Eastern offensive efficiency picked up. The Eagles made 21-of-31 from the floor and had only three turnovers, but every time they made inroads into the York lead, it seemed a Spartan would find space for an open 3-pointer and hit it. While York had fewer offensive rebounds in the second half, they still had a 17-to-11 edge on the boards for the period.  

Both Jaron Fairweather and Draig Cooley were 6-of-8 from the floor in the second half. Cooley sscored all 14 of his points in the second frame and Fariweather had 16 of his 22. York got 21 from Chris Miers and 19 from Tate Landis off the bench. Jackson Mascari had 13 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. York hada. 21-to-6 edge in second-chance points. 

"We knew going in that they would be tough to beat if they made shots," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "You look at the tape of them agains Newport and you see a team that moves the ball and creates scoring opportunities. Our match-ups were a little off and we made some changes, but they built the big lead and they were shooting with confidence. We will look to bounce back."

The Eagles drop back into a tie for second with Widener. The Pride picked up a 73-68 win at Messiah tonight. Alvernia beat Stevenson and sits atop the standings. 

Eastern (13-5, 6-3) has its bye on the midweek and will host Hood next Saturday.