ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– In a back-and-forth affair between two teams desperately in need of a win, Eastern University Men's Basketball wound up on the short end 79-72 result. The visiting Widener University Pride (6-14, 4-5) finished the game on a 9-to-3 run. Olise Onyeka led the Eagles with 17 points, six blocks, and five rebounds.  

In the opening half, the Eagles (8-12, 1-8) played some of their best basketball of the year. They shot 50 percent from the floor and led the entire period. The Eagles recorded 11 assists on their 17 made baskets. The Eastern lead reached its biggest point eight and a half minutes in when a DaRon Sherman finish of a Davin Hernandez lob put them up 22-11. 

Though the Pride cut the Eastern edge to 34-32 with 1:20 to go in the half, Onyeka hit a 3-pointer and Connor Fleet scored at the buzzer to send the Eagles to the locker room with a 39-32 lead.

Though the Pride scored the first ten points of the second half, the Eagles answered with a 10-point run of their own to lead 49-42 with 14 minutes left. Fleet and Onyeka hit from deep and Arkese Claiborne scored a pair of inside baskets. 

Widener took the lead back at 52-51 with an 8-to-0 run before Zubair Lee scored inside and Onyeka hit a pair of free throws at the 10:14 mark. Those two tosses from the stripe were the Eagles first two attempts from the foul line in the game. The Eagles averaged over 30 foul shots per game in the non-league schedule, but they have seen that number decline regularly as the season has progressed and their struggles in the league have continued. The Eagles finished 10-of-15 from the line. 

Widener took the lead for good with three made baskets in a 20 seconds stretch. After a Kevin Schenk lay-up, Lee missed the front end of a one-and-one. Then Jay-Nelly Reyes made a lay-up through tough contact from Lee. Reyes missed the free throw but got the offensive rebound and scored to put the guests up 60-57.

After Claiborne split a pair at the line, a 10-to-2 run from the Pride put the guests up 10 with five minutes left. 

Josh Harris made a tough shot at the rim to spark another burst. Davin Hernandez hit a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws, and a really tough driving lay-up to close the gap to 70-69 with three minutes to play. 

Jacob Aryee made a lay-up and Lee split a pair from the line to lose just a little ground. The Pride then nearly threw the ball away against Eastern pressure, but an Eastern defender touched the ball before it went out of play, and Aryee hit a corner 3-pointer on the inbounds play to swell the Widener lead to five. The Eagles were not able to close that gap. 

"At the end, they made shots down the stretch," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said. " Davin gave us great energy off the bench with 12 points and five assists. We did not shoot badly in the second half, but they got 13 more shots than we did. We missed over thirty shots and got seven offensive rebounds."

The Eagles will travel to Stevenson on Saturday. The Mustangs lost at York this evening.