GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa.— A bad stretch late in the first half proved to be too much to overcome as Eastern University Men's Basketball (2-2) dropped a 94-80 decision at Gwynedd Mercy University.  Olise Onyeka finished with 22 points, six rebounds, and five blocks, but the Eagles hit only 21-of-38 from the foul line and only 5-of-18 from behind the arc in the loss.

The Eagles led 9-2 early and still led 23-22 on an Onyeka lay-up with seven minutes to play in the first half. Over the next six minutes, the host Griffins outscored the Eagles 19-to-2. Eastern went 0-of-8 from the floor with six turnovers in the stretch.

A Josh Fadahunsi dunk in the final seconds of the half closed the Gwynedd lead to 43-29, but the hosts had confidence and a double-digit lead. The Eagles made only 10-of-28 from the floor and missed seven free throws in falling behind. The Griffins made 9-of-9 from the foul line and took advantage of 15 Eastern turnovers.

After the break, the Griffins (4-1) made 16-of-20 from the foul line and defended the arc well to keep the Eagles from making a run. Eastern pulled to within six points at 46-40 early on, but a quick 11-to-1 run restored the double-digit advantage for the hosts.

The Griffin lead never got to 20, but the Eagles only cut the deficit to single digits once the rest of the way. They trailed 80-72 with 3:42 left, but Gwynedd again had an answer with an 8-to-0 burst.

Connor Fleet finished with 19 points and Dejuan Taylor scored ten.

This is just the second time the two programs have met since January of 2008, the Eagles last played Gwynedd Mercy in 2015. Before that game in Miami the two schools played as conference opponents between 1992 and 2008. The Griffins have a 25-14 edge in the series.

Eastern will host the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Saturday at 2:00 pm.