FREDERICK, Md.– With sup-par weather on the roads, the longest trip in the MAC Commonwealth was made even longer for Eastern University Men's Basketball. The Eagles shot 57.6 percent from the floor and scored 52 points in the paint to overcome a hot-shooting start from the host Hood College Blazers and win, 91-88. Olise Onyeka, Arkese Claiborne, and Zubair Lee each scored over 20 points as the Eagles won at Hood for the fourth time in five meetings since the two teams became league opponents.

In the first half, the Eagles (10-13, 3-9) made 20-of-29 from the floor and shot 8-of-10 from the foul line and still trailed 53-51. Onyeka had 16 points, and two assists, Lee had 12 points, and Claiborne had 11. While the Eagles trailed at the break, they were right in the game, two of Hood's top players, Garrett Cox and Jevon Yarbrough each had three fouls.

"I am so proud of the way we executed," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "That first half, our offense was getting the shots we wanted and converting. To score 91 points against that zone while making only six 3-pointers is crazy. We finished the game with 52 points in the paint. They [Hood] are very difficult to play against, and I thought we executed our plan as well as we have at point since I've been coaching here."

The Blazers, who made 23 3-pointers in a blowout win in January, came out firing on their senior day as well. They made 10-of-20 from deep. Despite the hot shooting, the game stayed within reach for the entire first half. Hood had three four-point leads and Eastern had two. The rest of the half, the game was within a single possession.

The Blazers (15-8, 8-4) put together a 9-to-1 run to go up 70-62 with 12:29 left. Connor Fleet stopped that run with a 3-pointer off a good kick-out from Lee. It was Fleet's only 3-pointer of the game and just one of two for the Eagles in the second half.

After a pair of Hood free throws, Anthony Williams hit a put-back basket and then Lee finished a three-point play off the offensive glass to close the deficit to two points. Eastern turned 12 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. With both teams shooting over 50 percent for much of the game, the rebounding battle proved to be critical. Winning it turned out to be a complete group project for the Eagles. DaRon Sherman and Claiborne each had eight and Lee had seven.

Claiborne hit a 3-pointer off a good kick from Nick Mate to tie the score at 75 with nine minutes left to spark a 10-to-0 run. Onyeka capped the burst with a dunk off a clever bounce pass from Williams.

That seven-point lead did not last long. The Blazers answered with a run and led 85-83 with three and a half minutes left.

With the shot clock running down, Claiborne caught the ball in the mid-post and won his battle to get to the rim. He finished through contact and made his free throw to give the Eagles the lead. Lee and Fleet made free throws and the Eastern defense held late to secure the win. Onyeka blocked a final 3-point attempt from Garrison Linton at the buzzer.

Onyeka finished with a career-high 24 while making 10-of-15 from the floor. Claiborne 9-of-12 for 23 points, and Lee 7-of-9 for 21 points were just as efficient. All three top scorers also had three assists. Kullen Robinson led the Blazers with 25.

The Eagles took 28 foul shots but made only 17. Hood went 11-of-17 from the line.

The Eagles will have another chance to play spoiler when they host league-leading Albright on Tuesday at 7:00. The Lions are 10-2 in the conference. They claimed a 55-53 home win over Stevenson this afternoon.