WASHINGTON, D.C.– Eastern University Men's Basketball survived a late onslaught from behind the arc to earn an 82-76 overtime win over the Wabash College Little Giants On the final day of the Catholic University Holiday Classic. Zubair Lee scored 19 of his game-high 23 points after halftime.

The game featured 18 lead changes in the opening half hour, but the Eagles grabbed a 45-44 lead on a Jaron Fairweather transition basket and saw that lead grow to eight points on a 9-0 run. Lee had a pair of three-point plays in the burst, but the run stopped when his celebration after the second was deemed over the top and picked up a technical foul.

With their defense working, the Eagles lead stood at between five and six points, and it looked like they would have a chance to pull away with free throw opportunities after Lee scored inside with 1:08 on the clock. The Little Giants( 7-5) played are the two-time defending North Coast Athletic Conference Champions and 21 months removed from a Final 4 run. They kept attacking.

The Eagles missed three free throws, and Wabash guard Randy Kelley hit a deep 3-pointer with nine seconds left to close the gap to a single point with nine seconds left. After getting fouled, Kaeshawn Ward made a pair of foul shots to stretch the lead to 69-66 with six seconds to play.

Ward and Lee both had four fouls and Ward wound up guarding Kelley and showing him to the sideline. Kelley found a little space and rattled home a 25 footer to tie the game.

In the overtime, the Eagles did not allow a made 3-pointer and made 5-of-6 from the foul line to pull away. Ward scored seven points and had two assists in the five-minute extra frame.

Coming into today's game, the Wabash College Little Giants had committed 94 turnovers in 11 games and were ranked first in the nation in ball security. The Eastern pressure forced the Little Giants into 21 turnovers. Wabash shot 39 percent from the field but made 10 3-pointers in the game.

The Eagles were just 2-of-12 from deep but finished just a tick under 50 percent from the floor in the game. The Eagles won the rebounding battle 44-to-32.

"That was a rally strange game," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after overtime. "We did so many things right in terms of speeding them up, keeping the pressure on and getting some the looks we really wanted. At the same time, we finished with 24 turnovers, a lot of them careless, we missed the chance to put the game away late in regulation, and we had stretches in the first half where we could not get anything going."

The Eagles trailed by seven in the first half when Ward picked up his second foul with four minutes to play. With Ward and Fairweather on the bench and Lee playing with two fouls, the Eagles clawed back into the game. Arkese Claiborne made a tough jumper, Eljay Morris split a pair of of free throws, Davin Hernandez hit a corner 3-pointer in transition, and DaRon Sherman finished at the rim. The Little Giants retook the lead with a pair of free throws, but Kevin Reeves made two t=free throws to give the Eagles a 30-29 lead at the break.

Ward finished with 16  points and five rebounds and Fairweather scored 12 points and added six rebounds.

The Eagles will break until after the New Year when they will open MAC Commonwealth action at Stevenson University.