ASHLAND, Va.— After nearly a month off after a loss at Salisbury on Dec. 3rd, Eastern University Men's Basketball returned to action against that same Salisbury team in the opening round of the Randolph-Macon College Coaches' Tournament. The Eagles carved out an early lead, but a disastrous cold spell to end the half proved too much to overcome in a 72-46 loss.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the game, but the Sea Gulls (6-6) closed out both halves well to get up to 37.9 percent for the game. Salisbury made 5-of-7 in 17-to-6 run over the final six minutes of the game.
It was, however, the run at the end of the first half that proved to be the difference. After using a 10-to-0 run to go up 14-11 and holding a 16-14 lead with eight minutes to play in the frame, the Eagles went 0-for-12 from the floor and scored just a single free throw for the remainder of the half. As good looks at the basket stopped falling, the pressure mounted and baskets became even more scarce.
Salisbury shot just 30.3 percent from the floor in the half, but with Eastern making only 5-of-27 from he floor, the Sea Gulls still enjoyed a 15-point edge at the break.
Anthony Williams scored the first four points of the second half, and the Eagles remained on the edge of striking distance until another Salisbury run midway through the half stretched the Sea Gull lead to 17.
The Eagles (2-6) made 13-of-18 from the line in the game but were unable to generate points off turnovers or second-chance points to put together a run.
Dejuan Taylor scored ten points and DeRon Sherman had nine.
This game was the first time an Eastern team failed to score 50 points in a game since February of 2013, and Eastern's 26.4 percent shooting is the lowest for an Eastern team since a 61-44 loss at Misericordia in February of 2010. The Eagles made 16-of-62 shots in that game.
Eastern will not have much time to recuperate. The Eagles will play at 1:00 pm tomorrow in the consolation game against either the host Yellow Jackets who are ranked second in the country and are 8-0 on the year or against Misericordia. The Cougars have won seven straight games and are 7-1 on the year. The Eagles fell to Randolph-Macon in this year's opening game. Eastern and Misericordia have a rivalry dating back to Jan. of 1983. Eastern claimed a 67-66 win when the two teams met in Dec. of 2023.
