ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball went toe-to-toe for 40 minutes with the league-leading Albright College Lions. The Eagles were within three points twice in the final minute, but the visiting Lions converted on a tough jumper with 26 seconds left and made two final free throws to secure an 83-78 win and keep control of their chance at the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Zubair Lee scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Eagles in the loss.

The game featured great moments at both ends for each team. Lee was a force on the boards, Daron Sherman picked the Albright pockets for three steals and had two blocked shots. Olise Onyeka swatted away three attempts. At the other end, Albright's Phanique Dupree, the national leader in blocked shots, went above the rim to turn away five Eastern shots.

Both sides shot just a tick below 47 percent from the floor and had great moments of creative basketball. Sherman finished with 15 points and had six assists with only one turnover. Albright had 17 assists on their 30 made baskets.

The two teams both started the game with very efficient offense. Making 10-of-18 with to start the game, the Eagles led 25-19 midway through the half. Sherman had eight, and Anthony Williams scored seven. The Lions were only 1-of-6 from deep but were still shooting 50 percent from the floor. The Eastern lead grew to 33-24 with five and a half minutes left when Onyeka split a pair of free throws after a tremendous confrontation above the rim while trying to put a dunk over Dupree.

At that point, the Lions (16-7, 11-2) found a different gear. Over  the next three minute stretch, Albright ripped off a 16-to-0 run. The Lions hit all six of their shots, and were 4-of-4 from deep. Joey Callahan touched the ball three times and hit three 3-pointers. Eric Chamberlain made two baskets and had two assists in the run.

The run finally ended with a Connor Fleet basket. Sherman then delivered another highlight with block of a Chamberlain 3-point attempt that led to a run-out. Fleet made the lay-up and converted the and-one free throw to close the Albright lead to 40-38 with a minute left in the half.

That momentum, however, faded quickly as the Lions hit two more 3-pointers in the final minute to hold a 46-38 lead at the half.

The second half saw the Eagles have several possessions where they cut the lead to a single possession or had a possession to do so, but each time, the experienced Albright squad had an answer. The Eagles switched defenses and forced seven turnovers, but the Lions forced Eastern into six. Eastern used 10 offensive rebounds in the second half to score 16 points, but the Lions also grabbed 10 and scored nine.

Sherman completed a three-point play with 55 seconds left to cut the deficit to 79-76. The Eastern defense stood its ground and forced a tough shot late in the clock, but Jeremiah Stanton rolled in the contested 16-footer to bump the Albright lead back to five.

Eastern's first response failed when Dupree blocked a lay-up attempt, but Lee chased down Stanton and slapped the ball off the Albright guard's leg to win possession back for his team. Sherman fed Lee to close the gap further, but Albright's Qadir Mitchell made two free throws to secure the win.

"We have been playing a lot better," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said of his team after the game. "Our effort is there and we are doing good things at both ends of the floor. To beat that team, you have to be really good for the entire 40 minutes. They made six 3-pointers in the final six minutes of the first half. A lot of that is them being experienced and talented and executing. We did a good job answering, but it is tough to overcome a stretch like that."

Sherman had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, Arkese Claiborne finished with 11, and Onyeka had ten. Lee had six of his rebounds on the offensive end and made all five of his free throws. The two teams each finished with 37 rebounds. Chamberlain finished with a game-high 19.

"It's interesting looking at our league," Pruessner continued. "Last year, Albright and York were both left out of the tournament. Both those teams have obviously grown from that experience and are the top two teams headed into the final week. We can look at this year and see we've got some wins on the road over some good teams. Hopkins is leading the Centennial, Roanoke is 20-4, and Hood has a really good senior-laden group. I think tonight shows us that we have another step to take. I am hoping that we respond to this year in the right way."

The Eagles (10-14, 3-10) will host Messiah University in a 4:00 pm game on Saturday tin the season-finale for both sides.