CARLISLE, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball used stifling defense in a 23-6 run at the start of the second half to break open a big lead and held on to claim an 87-79 win over the host Dickinson College Red Devils. Nick Mate finished with 19 points and Olise Onyeka added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Though the Eagles led for much of the first half, the game remained within a possession for most of the early going. The Eagles (3-1) earned some separation with a 9-to-0 run over a two and a half minute stretch. Onyeka converted a dunk off a feed from Zubair Lee early in the burst, and Mate capped the run with a 3-pointer after Arkese Claiborne hit a tough floater.

The Red Devils (0-2) answered with a run of free throws to close the gap to 33-31 before the Eagles scored the final six points of the half. Claiborne and Anthony Williams scored baskets and DaRon Sherman ended the half with a pair of made free throws.

The Eagles made 11-of-14 from the line in the opening frame and had a 21-15 edge on the glass.

The Devils scored a basket on the opening possession of the second half, and then the Eastern defense went to work. The Eastern press flustered the hosts into five turnovers in an 11-to-0 run that lasted only two minutes. Onyeka put down a thunderous dunk in transition on a pass from Sherman.

The Red Devils broke pressure and hit a 3-pointer, but the Eagles responded with a 12-to-3 run capped by another Mate 3-pointer which made it 62-39. Though Dickinson responded with six-straight points, Davin Hernandez hit a 3-pointer and Claiborne scored in close to keep the Eastern lead at 22 points with 11 minutes to play.

The Eagles made 15-of-19 free throws over the final 11 minutes to hold off the hosts, but the final moments were not comfortable. With Lee fouling out after spending much of the second half in foul trouble, the Eagles scuffled from the floor. Dickinson cut the lead to seven with less than four minutes left. The Eastern defense came up with multiple stops, but the Eagles could only manage a single Onyeka free throw until Hernandez buried a corner 3-pointer to restore a double-figure edge.

Eastern briefly stretched the lead to 13 before the hosts scored seven of the last nine points in the game for the final margin.

"We did a lot of good things today," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "We had the pace where we want it to be early in the second half, and then all the foul shots slowed the game down. It was good to see us hit them. When you make 32 free throws in a game it's usually going to help you win. That said, it really slowed things down. Credit to our guys. We have to be able to succeed when the game does slow down."

"We put five guys in double-figures," Pruessner continued. "DaRon was credited with five steals and scored 11, and Arkese did a nice job getting us baskets late in the clock. Davin hit a big 3-pointer late to give us a little breathing room."

Claiborne had 19 points. The Eagles finished with a 41-37 edge on the glass.

Eastern will host Salisbury University on Tuesday evening.