READING, Pa.—A seven-minute stretch without a field goal in the second half proved to be too much to overcome as Eastern University Men's Basketball saw the gains made with a strong start to the second half dissipate on the way to a 79-70 MAC Commonwealth loss at Albright College. Connor Fleet posted a career-high 27 points, and Olise Onyeka and Dejuan Taylor each scored 17, but Albright guard Qadir Mitchell scored 21 of his game-high 31 points after the intermission to help the Lions (10-9, 6-2) level the season series at a game apiece.

The Eagles (6-12, 3-5) came into today's game on the heels a of a pair of tough road losses in the league, and they struggled out of the gate. Albright held an 18-7 lead heading into the under-12 media timeout. The Eastern defense dug in. Albright made only 1-of-5 shots and had four turnovers over an eight-minute stretch. The offensive woes, however, continued. The Eagles only picked up four points in the stretch, and an Akhir Keys 3-pointer with three-and-a-half minutes left put Albright up 24-16. Eastern trimmed the deficit to four on a steal and score from DaRon Sherman, but Mitchell made a tough floater with his off hand to give Albright a 31-25 halftime edge.

Taylor had ten points at half, and Fleet had nine. The Eagles stayed in the game in part by owning a 20-to-13 edge on the glass.

The Eagles opened the second half with a 17-to-6 burst. Fleet scored ten points in the run and hit a pair of 3-pointers. His lay-up at the 14-minute mark put the Eagles up 42-37.

Then the cold front set in. Over the next nine minutes, the Eagles did not turn the ball over and made 7-of-8 from the foul line, but they made only 1-of-13 shots from the floor, and Mitchell scored 15 in a 28-to-9 Albright run.

While the Eagles kept fighting over the final four minutes, the Lions made 10-of-12 from the foul line to secure the win.

In the first meeting between the two squads, Eastern's bench outscored the Albright reserves by a 22-10 margin in an 87-68 win. This afternoon, the Lions had a 22-0 edge in bench points as the Eastern reserves attempted only seven shots in 40 minutes of action. Keys made five 3-pointers to score 15 points.

Onyeka finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season.

The Eagles have four home games in their final six. They will host Widener on Wednesday. The Pride, despite 39 points from Miles Bright, dropped a 104-97 result to league-leading Hood today in Chester. Widener (96-13, 3-5) beat the Eagles in overtime in the first meeting between the two teams. The middle of the league tightened up a little when Stevenson beat Alvernia, 88-72.