ST. DAVIDS, Pa. — Eastern University Men's Basketball started the calendar year with a dramatic 74-70 home win over the University of Rochester Yellowjackets. Olise Onyeka scored 16 points and added 12 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Eagles.

Eastern (3-7) closed the game on a 13-to-5 run after a 15-point second-half lead evaporated against a 23-to-4 run from the visitors. In that burst, Rochester made 6-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the line to hold a 65-61 lead with 3:41 on the clock.

Onyeka scored inside to start a 10-0 run that flipped the lead in the game. Connor Fleet tied the game with a pair of free throws and then put the Eagles up two on a tough lay-up with 90 seconds left. Onyeka then turned away a mid-range attempt with a big block and a coast-to-coast effort for a two-handed dunk.

Down four, the Yellowjackets rushed into the front-court and Taylor jarred a ball free. Onyeka was first on the floor to the loose ball and called a timeout before getting tied up. Out of the timeout, AJ Williams hit Onyeka over the top for another thunderous dunk for a 71-68 lead.

Rochester did not concede. A tough 3-pointer forced the Eagles to make foul shots to secure the win. DaRon Sherman made a pair with 16 seconds left on the clock, and Fleet pushed the lead back to four with a single make with 10 seconds to play.

Fleet finished with 17 points and four rebounds. Taylor scored 12. Sherman, Josh Fadahunsi, and Bryson Spruell all scored eight. Though the Eagles went just 3-for-21 from behind the arc, they continued to build on their recent defensive performances by holding the Yellowjackets to just 23-of-63 for the game.

Following a tough finish to 2025, Eastern came into tonight's home test looking to build off a pair of strong defensive performances  and needing to find some offensive consistency. In their three games since the start of December, the Eagles had made only 13-of-75 shots from behind the arc.

Though they went just 1-of-11 from distance in the first half, the Eagles made 15-of-30 overall and forged a 34-30 lead at the break. Dejuan Taylor went 5-for-5 from the floor with a pair of offensive rebounds to lead the Eagles at the break.

Head Coach Dan Pruessner pointed to the energy that Spruell and Fadahunsi brought off the bench. Nick Mate also had five points and three assists as the Eastern bench outscored the UR bench 21-8.

"It's good to be home," Pruessner said after the game.  "We did a good job establishing Dejuan early. Even though we did not make many, our 3-pointers were shots we want. Bryson [Spruell] made a couple big ones in the second half and Olise made some big plays down the stretch. It's tough to see a big lead disappear and find a way to rally back, but we did. I think that was important for our guys as we head into the conference season."

The only other time Eastern and Rochester met was in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Rochester won that game 88-65. That game was Eastern's first-ever NCAA Tournament game. The Yellowjackets were playing in their 17th NCAA Tournament. The UAA has three teams ranked in the top-10 of the D3hoops.com top-25 poll. 

On Wednesday, Eastern will host the No. 19 York College Spartans in the MAC Commonwealth opener for both teams. York (10-1) is coming into the game on the heels of a pair of close wins over NCAA Tournament-level teams. The Spartans beat Penn State Harrisburg 50-48 last Tuesday and won 64-61 over Gettysburg this afternoon.

Wednesday's doubleheader will start with the Women's game at 5 pm with the Men's game afterwards.