ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Before today's game, Eastern University Men's Basketball had held opposing teams to 29.4 percent shooting from behind the arc. The visiting Hood College Blazers turned those numbers upside down with a 24-of-35 performance on the way to a 121-78 MAC Commonwealth win. The Blazers (10-5, 3-1) connected on a ridiculous 15-of-23 in the second half to run away to the win. 

The Hood lead was seven with five minutes to play in the first half. In a harbinger of things to come, the Blazers hit 4-of-6 from behind the arc in a 16-to-8 run to close out the half and take a 50-35 lead to the break. They finished the first half 8-of-18 from deep. 

The Eagles attacked the rim and shot 17 first-half free throws and made 6-of-18 from behind the arc, but getting into a shooting contest with the Blazers was not going to be successful. 

To start the second half, the Blazers hit 9-of-13 from deep including a stretch of five in a row that featured several contested shots and a banked in shot from 25 feet. Garrett Cox, who finished with 28, had three in a row. The Eagles made only 2-of-9 second-half 3-pointers against the Hood zone and never gained traction. Even as the game went into the closing minutes of bench time, the shots fell for the visitors. Hood had eight different players make multiple 3-pointers. Senior point guard Garrison Linton had a triple double in a loss at Eastern last year. This year he finished two rebounds short with 18 points and 12 assists.

DaRon Sherman, who saw his time limited by foul trouble, still made 7-of-10 from the foul line and scored 13 points to finished tied with Connor Fleet for team-high honors. The Eagles went 24-of-35 from the foul line and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. 

"I think we let some of our frustration at the offensive end impact our execution on defense," Head Coach Dan Pruessner sadi after the game. "That being said, sometimes shooting is contagious. They hit their shots today. It's a tough loss to take, but it is just one game, and we have to bounce back on Wednesday against Alvernia."

The Eagles (8-7, 1-3) will host the Golden Wolves in a single game on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.