For the second time in three days, the Eastern University Eagles (5-2, 2-1) watched a big first half lead erode, but on this night the Eagles were able to answer Neumann’s (3-6, 3-1) 18-2 run with a convincing run of their own to push to an 83-63 home win. Bobby Black led all scorers with 28 points on just 18 shots.
Everything was working for the host Eagles out of the gates as they exploded to a quick 22-4 lead. After Neumann’s Ronnie Fields answered Lenny Dimaria’s opening basket, The Eagles ran off eighteen straight points before the visitors were able to score again. Elisha Hannibal stopped the bleeding for the Knights with a short jumper in the paint, but the Eagles looked to be running away behind good ball movement and high percentage shooting. Black hit for seven points in the opening burst and Corey Copeland pitched in with 5 points and two assists in the run.
After a Matt Malloy three put the Eagles up 27-9, things went south for the Eastern offense quickly. Myriad miscues plagued the Eagles as they gave their guests possession time and again, and the Knights answered with a 20-4 run that brought Eastern’s halftime advantage down to 3-29. Neumann used good inside scoring and two long three pointers from Eric Lawton to fuel their best run of the game.
Out of the half the Eagles picked up two straight baskets from senior co-captain Bryan Nadelhoffer. The second basket came off a great catch of a Black bullet pass from the top of the key. Nadelhoffer returned the favor the next trip down as Black buried a mid range jumper off the big man’s kick out. After the two teams traded three pointers, Hitchens converted on a three point play to bring the visitors within five at 40-35. Neumann would get no closer as Black and sophomore shooter Matt Flanagan combined for eleven points in a minute on three three pointers and another short jumper.
The Eagles were sharp from distance on the evening hitting 12 of 22 three pointers including 9 of 13 in the second half. Copeland picked up 13 points and seven boards to join Black in double figures, while Malloy picked up 11 points. The sophomore forward enjoyed a breakout game with six boards, six assists, two steals with just a single turnover in 24 minutes of action. Hannibal, Lawton, and Andre Wright all scored eleven points for the Knights.
Coach Nadelhoffer said of the game, “We were very concerned with the last nine minutes of the first half, but we did a better job finding the right combinations in the second half. Bobby[Black] and Matt [Malloy] both put together fantastic floor games tonight. It was great to see the efficiency we got from Bobby at the offensive end of the floor. As a team we corrected some shot selection issues and it paid off with a very productive second half. I liked the fact that we held them to 33% shooting in the second half. That is a good trend for us. We need to put this one in our pocket and prepare for Misericordia on Saturday.”