ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball used a 26-10 run over an eight-minute stretch to trim a 21-point Stockton University lead to five with eight and a half minutes to play. The visiting Ospreys made 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch to and did not allow the Eagles to close the gap further on the way to a 100-94 non-league win. The visitors hit 12-of-26 from behind the arc and made 18-of-21 free throws to offset a 33-point night from Zubair Lee. 

Eastern (4-2) made only 3-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half and trailed 57-46 at the break. The guests put together a 27-to-7 run over a six minute stretch to go up 15 with a minute to play. The Eagles scored the final four points of the first half. Stockton made nine first-half 3-pointers and had 19 points from EJ Matthews -Spratley and 14 from Martin Anguelov. The Eagles made only 13-of-21 first-half free throws but still seemed to be within striking distance as Lee had 15 points and Arkese Claiborne had 12. 

The Ospreys (3-1) opened the second half on a 12-to-2 run. Anguelov hit a step-back 3-pointer with 16 minutes left to give the guests their biggest lead. Anguelov came into the game averaging six points an outing through the first three games and was 1-for-14 from behind the arc. On this night, he hit 5-of-7 from behind the arc and finished with 33 points off the bench. 

As they have for much of the year, the Eagles put together a second half run. Fueled by aggressive defensive and drives to the basket. The Eagles surged ona. 15-to-2 burst over a four-minute stretch. The Eagles had four steals and made 6-of-7 shots in the burst. Claiborne scored seven points in the flurry.

Stockton stopped the run with a 3-pointer and a three-point play, but again the Eagles clawed back. DaRon Sherman hit a couple tough lay-ups and Lee completed a three-point play to bring the Eagles to within five points at 79-74. The Eastern defense forced two misses on the next possession, but the guests battled for an offensive rebound to start a 6-to-0 run the other way. 

The Eagles had the deficit at six points with nearly five minutes left, but Anguelov scored ten points on a couple tough floaters and six free throws, and the guests made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to secure the win. Eastern forced a turnover and had a 3-point attempt with 3:10 on the clock rim out that would have closed the gap to a single possession. The Eagles scored 48 second-half points without making a 3-pointer. 

"This was a tough match-up for us in a lot of ways," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "We did a much better job defending the arc and overall after their run to start the second half. They only made three in the second half, but its tough to come all the way back when you are down that much. AJ (Anthony Willimas) gave us really good minutes off the bench in the second half. He got some big steals and helped us move the ball on offense. Credit to him for being ready to go."

Claiborne finished the game with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Lee had nine boards to go with his 11-of-17 shooting performance. Sherman had 13 points and six assists. After shooting 53 percent in the first half, Stockton made only 41 percent in the second half, but the Ospreys made 12-of-13 from the line and grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the second half. 

Eastern will travel to Johns Hopkins on Tuesday.