OWINGS MILLS, Md—Fueled by great contributions from the bench, Eastern University Men's Basketball erased a 23-point second-half deficit to claim a 75-73 MAC Commonwealth win at Stevenson University. DaRon Sherman scored at the buzzer as the Eagles needed late heroics to complete the comeback.

Down big, Pruessner turned to his bench to change the energy of the game. Michael Wallace, Justin Ezeukwu, and Josh Harris each came on tasked with keeping the Mustangs away from the rim and with running an offense through the post.

"I am speechless," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the win. "Our bench came through for us today. Justin, Trey [Michael Wallace], and Josh all brought what we needed in a really critical game for us. We told the guys at halftime that the second half could be a major turning point for us. Road wins in this league are difficult to get. To get one this way was huge."

Dejuan Taylor got touches on nearly every trip up the floor and the Eagles made 15-of-21 shots and made it to the foul line 16 times over the next 15 minutes. Taylor scored 13 of his 15 points in the decisive run the Eagles made all three of their 3-point attempts. Ezeukwu made his first two 3-pointers of the year and Josh Harris drained a shot from the right wing to pull the Eagles to within two points with 3:10 on the clock.

Fleet then stole the inbounds pass and scored inside to tie the score at 67. The Eagles forced ten turnovers in the run, but it was a regular defensive stop with a defensive rebound from Fleet that gave the Eagles the ball back. Taylor was patient and finished with his left hand to put the Eagles up for the first time since early in the first half.

Taylor had a chance to stretch the lead, but his inside shot rimmed out. The hosts tied the game with a pair of free throws after the officials ruled that Ezeukwu had some of the Stevenson player's arm as he tied up the rebound attempt. Fleet then made four-straight from the line to give the Eagles a 73-69 lead with 17 seconds left.

That lead, however, did not stand. Stevenson got to the basket for a quick lay-up and then had a chance to tie after Taylor missed a pair from the line. The Eagles finished only 16-of-26 from the foul line in the second half.

It looked like the Eagles would escape with a two-point win when Harris blocked a lay-up attempt, but the referees called a goaltending on the floor and allowed the call to stand after review.

As the officials reviewed the call, Pruessner and his staff drew up a play for the win. Taylor set a big screen at mid-court and Sherman released the ball on his right-handed lay-up with a few tenths on the clock. His lay-up slipped in with the backboard fully illuminated.

"When Dejuan set the screen," Pruessner said, "I knew we had won. DaRon is so good in that situation and the screen gave him a mismatch that he was not going to turn down."

Sherman finished with 12 points and five rebounds. He was 4-for-5 from the floor. Onyeka posted his sixth-straight double-double with 12 points, ten rebounds, and several key blocked shots. Fleet was 4-for-4 from the line and tied Taylor for team-high honors with 15 points.

As a team, the Eagles shot 57 percent from the floor after halftime. Ezeukwu and Harris each had six points and Wallace finished with four points.

Including their final two shots at the rim, the Mustangs made only seven baskets inside the arc in the second half. Kole Beaman scored a game-high 21 to pace the hosts.

The Eagles (5-10, 2-2)have now won nine-straight games against Stevenson. 

In the first half, the Eagles shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, but with no second chance points or points off turnovers, they trailed 39-28 at the break. Sherman and Fleet each had seven points and Olise Onyeka had five, but the Eastern was unable to take advantage of a size advantage as Taylor played only eight minutes with foul trouble.

Through 20 minutes, the Mustangs  (9-5, 1-3) took ten more shots from the floor and three more from the foul line. The hosts converted 11 Eastern turnovers into 18 points and held the Eagles to just one offensive rebound.

The Eagles led 11-3 with 14 minutes left, and then things went sideways. Stevenson made 6-of-9 from the floor and made all four free throws in a 17-to-3 run over five minutes. The Eagles drew within a point on an inside basket from Anthony Williams, but back-to-back 3-pointers sparked a 19-to-9 run to close out the half.

For the Eagles, the start of the second half was worse than the first. Stevenson scored the first 12 points of the half as the Eagles missed three 3-pointers and had a turnover as the hosts hit 4-for-4 from the floor to build a 51-28 lead with 17-and-a-half left.

Eastern will host the Messiah University Falcons (4-11, 0-4) on Wednesday at 7:00 pm. The Falcons lost at York today.