Box Score OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Eastern University Men's Basketball outscored the host Stevenson University Mustangs 16-to-7 in overtime, but it was other results in the league that had a larger bearing on the day as the Eagles slipped to the fourth seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament despite the 78-69 overtime win. Sam Gallardo scored all 14 of his points after halftime and Zubair Lee scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pick up his fourth double-double of the season.

Going in, the Eagles knew they would be third or fourth in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament. A win at Hood by league-leading Alvernia would have put the Eagles in third regardless of the outcome at Stevenson. A Hood win would still have the Eagles in third if Widener beat York and Eastern beat Stevenson.

With Stevenson celebrating an extended senior day for both the men and the women, the game started well after the other two. In Chester, the Widener Pride shot just 32 percent from the floor and the York Spartans made 11-of-21 from behind the arc. York's reserves attempted only seven shots, but made six of them and the Spartans led for the final 27 minutes of the game and won 78-64. That game went final just after halftime in the Eastern game and midway through the second half in the Hood game.

Hood's zone held the Alvernia Golden Wolves to 32.4 percent shooting in the game. Hood led by seven when the Widener game went final and Alvernia could not find a comeback. It is the second time this year the Blazers beat Alvernia. Had Alvernia won, Hood would have been the fourth seed and a likely match-up for the semifinal. Instead, Hood goes to Widener, and Eastern will host York on Monday.

The Eagles scuffled through a first half that included 11-of-26 shooting from the floor with no made 3-pointers and 11 turnovers. Despite scoring only 24 points, Eastern only trailed 29-24. Kevin Reeves was a bright spot with eight points five shots.

Eastern trailed early in the half and finally took a lead on a Gallardo 3-pointer with nine and a half minutes left. That lead, however, was short-lived as the Mustangs rallied and built their lead to 55-49 with six minutes to play in regulation.

The Stevenson lead was still six with five minutes left.

Capped by Gallardo's second 3-pointer of the half, the Eagles scored the next eight points and held a 60-58 lead. Both teams turned in empty possessions and Eastern took several fouls before Stevenson senior guard McKale Williams tied the game at 60 with a tough jumper with 34 seconds to play.

Draig Cooley took the inbounds pass and waited to go. He worked the shot clock under five and attacked the rim. His lay-up rolled in with under five seconds to play. The Mustangs, who were eliminated from post-season consideration when Widener lost, continued to fight. Williams beat the buzzer with a tough lay-up over a strong contest from Lee to force overtime.

The Eagles scored the first seven points of overtime and made 6-of-8 from the floor and four free throws to secure a 17th win. Before last season's 21-win effort, 17 and been the high-water mark for wins in a season by an Eastern team in NCAA Division III. Eastern went 17-9 in 2008-'09 and 17-10 in 2019-2020.

With four points in overtime, Cooley finished with 13 in the game. He is nine points from 1000 for his career. Jaron Fairweather had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Kaeshawn Ward had 10 points and six rebounds.

"It was good for us to respond with a win in a tough environment," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "They had a huge crowd and their band and football team were right there. We had to overcome some adversity and we did. It was great to see Sam's shots go in. He has not been 100 percent since the new year, and everything has seemed to go halfway down and rim out. It was a big boost for our team to have him making shots. We don't have a lot of time to prepare, but we knew going in we did not control the outcomes in the other games. We are a little surprised both Widener and Alvernia lost, but really only a little. Hood and York are both good teams. All five teams in the tournament have a chance to win. We just have to be at our best every time out the rest of the way."

Eastern will host York at 7:00 pm on Monday. The winner of that game will travel to Alvernia on Wednesday. Widener hosts Hood on Wednesday.