GRANTHAM, Pa.– Locked into a post-season position and playing on the road against team at the bottom of the league table, Eastern University Men's Basketball jumped out to a 17-point lead and survived a lackluster finish on the way to a 60-53 win at Messiah. The Eagles (18-7, 10-4) made only 8-of-22 second half shots while scoring 20 points below their season average. With the team's five starters going just 10-for-34 from the floor, the Eagles got 26 points off the bench.
The Eagles led 35-25 at half and started the second half on a 12-to-5 run,
Olise Onyeka had a pair of baskets in the burst and
DaRon Sherman put the Eagles up 47-30 with a 3-pointer. After the Falcons (6-19, 2-12) answered Sherman's longe-range effort with an inside basket,
Arkese Claiborne restored the 17-point edge with a dunk in transition with over ten minutes to play.
The Eagles saw their lead shrink to six points as they went nearly eight minutes without a basket.
Eljay Morris stopped the Messiah run with three free throws and a lay-up. Those five would prove to be the only five points of the game for Morris.
While the Eastern offense struggled, they were able to keep the Falcons to 33 percent shooting overall and only 1-of-14 from behind the arc. Messiah finished with a 43-38 edge on the glass.
Nick Mate made three first-half 3-pointers to help the Eagles build their lead. He finished with nine points. Onyeka scored six, and Sherman had seven.
Davin Hernandez made his only attempt and finished with three points.
Zubair Lee scored a game-high 15 points.
It is the third year in a row that the Eagles have won at least 18 games. Before that run started, the program-high for a 25-game regular season was 17. it is the first time the Eagles have swept the season series with the Falcons since joining the MAC Commonwealth.
The 60 points today was the lowest total in a win since Eastern beat Messiah ,60-55, in December of 2021. t is the first win by the Eagles this year in a game where they shot under 41 percent from the floor. t is the third time this year an Eastern opponent has shot 33 percent.
This Wednesday evening, Eastern travels to Hood College for the opening round of the MAC Commonwealth tournament.
