LANCASTER, Pa.—On the final day before Thanksgiving Break, Eastern University Men's Basketball dropped an 85-73 decision at Franklin & Marshall College.
Olise Onyeka made 9-of12 shots and finished with 22 points, but the host Diplomats shot 53.2 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle by 16 to earn the win.
The Eagles (2-4) used a 9-to-0 run over a two-an-a-half minute stretch to go up 22-18 with 8:47 to play.
Mason Lewis and
Connor Fleet each made 3-pointers in the burst. The hosts used a 5-to-1 burst to tie the game before
Nick Mate made a pair from the foul line for a 25-23 Eastern lead.
The Diplomats (5-1) made five of their next seven shots for a 12-to-2 run that gave them command of the game. F & M Scored the final basket of the first half for a 42-33 lead. The Diplomats made 17-of-27 (63 %) from the floor before halftime. The Eagles kept things close by getting to the foul line 16 times, but even that strategy had limited effectiveness as no F & M player was in serious foul trouble and the Eagles made only 11 foul shots.
After the teams traded baskets early in the half, Onyeka took over the game with eight points in a 12-to-2 run to tie the game at 51. Eastern's senior forward scored inside and out and capped the burst with a block-to-dunk sequence with 12:40 on the clock.
Over the next few minutes, the hosts built their lead back to six or seven points and held it there. Though the Eagles got seven points from
DaRon Sherman down the stretch, with
Connor Fleet fouled out they were unable to connect from deep, and the Diplomats hit their free throws to hold the lead. Sherman finished with 14 points and
Dejuan Taylor had 11 points off the bench.
While F & M converted 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points, the Eagles had just one offensive rebound in the second half.
The Eagles will play at Salisbury University next Wednesday before closing out the first semester with a home test against Penn State Scranton.
This was the first time Eastern Men's Basketaball has played F & M since January, 1996. Eastern football will be at Franklin and Marshall for the first NCAA Game in program hisotry for both sides this coming Saturday.
