READING, Pa.– After shooting 54 percent form the floor in the first half, Eastern University Men's Basketball made only two field goals in the first ten minutes of the second half and was never able to recover in a 94-78 MAC Commonwealth loss at Alvernia. The host Golden Wolves (14-8, 6-5) led 47-42 at halftime and started the second half on a 23-to-9 run.
Zubair Lee finished with 18 points to lead four Eagles in double-figures.
The Eagles (9-13, 2-9) jumped to a 8-2 lead out of the gate and went up 18-8 on a Lee dunk with 13:36 to play in the first half. The Eagles made eight of their first 12 shots and had a pair of steals.
Alvernia (14-8, 6-5) flipped the script with an 11-0 run over a two minute stretch. The Eagles only attempted a single shot in the stretch and the hosts made all five shots to go up 19-8. The teams traded baskets to halftime with the Eagles missing their final shot before the buzzer.
Both teams made 19 field goals in the first half. The Golden Wolves took three trips to the foul line and shot 5-for-6 while the Eagles took only two foul shots in the first half and made just one.
Olise Onyeka and
Connor Fleet each had ten points at halftime. Alvernia's Elijah Hamilton led all scorers with 15 at the break.
While the Eagles struggled in the first minutes of the second half, the Golden Wolves made 9-of-17 shots and hit a couple 3-pointers on the way to a 70-51 lead. The Eagles pulled to within 14 points late, but the hosts had already secured the result.
Arkese Claiborne and Fleet each had 14 points and Onyeka finished with 12. With a strong shooting finish the Eagles shot 45 percent in the second half, but Alvernia finished at 55 percent for the game. The Eagles made only 7-of-13 from the line for the game. The 13 foul shots is the lowest number of attempts by the Eagles this year.
The loss officially eliminates the Eagles from post-season contention. Alvernia sits a game ahead of Widener for the fourth spot. The top two spots in the MAC Commonwealth are occupied by two teams, Albright and York, that missed last season's MAC Tournament.
