GETTYSBURG, Pa.— Eastern University Men's Basketball dropped a 97-71 decision to the No. 2 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. Connor Fleet scored 22 points and Olise Onyeka had 16 as the Eagles battled against a deep and experienced squad with National Championship aspirations.

Randolph Macon won the Division III National Championship in 2022 and went 29-2 the following season. This year's team featured the top eight scorers from their '24-'25 team that won the regular season title in the ODAC.

The Eagles led 12-9 early, but a 14-to-2 run over a four-minute stretch gave the Yellow Jackets their first double-digit lead of the game. Fleet and Onyeka scored back-to-back buckets, but Randolph-Macon made 5-of-7 from the floor over the final five minutes to build a 14-point lead at the break.

Shots from behind the arc were the difference in the first half and in the game. The Yellow Jackets made six 3-pointers in the first half and finished 14-of-30 for the game. The Eagles made 6-of-16.

The Eagles kept the lead from expanding too quickly by getting to the rim and the foul line in the second half, but the Eastern defense was never able to get enough stops to really cut into the Randolph-Macon advantage.

Eastern made 21-of-26 from the foul line in the second half. The Yellow Jackets made only 6-of-18 shots inside the arc after intermission, but they went 17-of-20 from the foul line and hit 8-of-16 from behind the arc.

Randolph-Macon had a 10-1 advantage on the offensive glass in the second half. The Eagles turned that one offensive rebound into a made 3-pointer, but the Yellow Jackets had 13 second-chance points. Randolph-Macon led the ODAC in fewest turnovers per game last year, and despite significant pressure from the Eastern defense had just eight giveaways in their opener tonight. The eagles had only 11 turnovers but shot just 39 percent from the floor. 

Eastern will play Wilson in the Consolation game tomorrow at 4 pm. The Phoenix dropped an 81-79 heart-breaker to the tournament hosts in the opener.