ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Though Eastern University Men's Basketball led for the final 32 minutes of play, the Eagles (10-3, 2-0) survived a late push from the visiting York College Spartans to emerge with an 85-69 win. Zubair Lee scored a career-high 32 points and finished with 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the year.

The Eagles led 50-37 with 15 minutes left. York then put together a 21-to-10 run where they hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 7-of-8 shots overall to pull within a basket with eight minutes left. Kaeshawn Ward converted a three-point play and Lee split a pair of free throws after a Kevin Reeves steal to bump the lead to six. The Spartans answered with a basket, but Reeves buried a 3-pointer on the third shot of a possession to put the Eagles up 67-60. Ward had two of his game-high six offensive rebounds on that critical possession. Ward, Eastern's point guard had more offensive rebounds than the York team. The Eagles came into the game averaging a MAC Commonwealth-best 14.5 offensive rebounds an outing. They grabbed 17 today and finished with a 46-28 edge on the glass overall.

"We did exactly what we needed to do on the glass today," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "Our effort on the offensive glass and our willingness to stay with our pressure defensively even when they broke through a few times was huge. They adjusted to some of the things we were doing, and perhaps more than any other game this year our guys took our adjustments to their adjustments and kept the effort really high."

Reeves finished with 10 points and a pair of steals off the bench. He and Arkese Claiborne led a reserve group that finished with 23 points and 11 steals. Claiborne had six points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

"Arkese had a great game today," Pruessner continued. "His five steals and five offensive rebounds are only part of it. He was changing shots and moving the ball well on offense. Olise [Onyeka] also made a really big three-point play for us in response to that run they put together."

The Eastern lead stood at 71-65 with four minutes on the clock. Jaron Fairweather found Reeves for his second 3-pointer of the day, and then the Eagles forced an over-and-back violation with more pressure. After another Ward offensive rebound, Fairweather found a mismatch in the post, drew the double-team, and pitched it Ward for the open look from behind the arc. The ball dropped through and the Eastern lead was back to 12.

"Jaron's kick to Kae," Pruessner continued. "Was the play of the game. Jaron was patient and composed and made the right decision. At that point we felt we had made it through."

Ward finished with 11 points to go with his 10 rebounds. Fairweather scored a season-low six points but had seven assists and played a critical role in Eastern's defensive pressure.

The Eagles made 17-of-22 from the foul line and 6-of-17 from behind the arc. Kai Cipalla led the Spartans with 16 points, but the MAC Commonwealth's leading scorer had only five points in the second half.

The Eagles built a 38-27 halftime lead with ten points off turnovers and eight second-chance points. Lee had 13 first-half points and Eljay Morris made 4-of-6 from the floor while spending much of his time at the other end working to keep Cipalla from getting scoring chances.

For the game, Lee made 6-of-8 from the foul line and 2-of-2 from behind the arc. The sophomore forward scored nine of his baskets right at the rim. He also blocked a pair of shots. He is shooting 53 percent from the floor and 77.3 percent from the foul line and is averaging 18.5 points and 10 rebounds per game. 

Tate Landis scored 15 points and Jaden Rowe added 10 for the Spartans (7-6, 0-2)

The Eagles will host MAC Commonwealth favorite Widener on Wednesday at 7:00 pm. The Pride (11-2, 1-1) beat Stevenson today after falling at Hood in their league opener.