The win is the 14th in 16 meetings all-time for Eastern (6-13) over Albertus (3-17) and snaps a five-game losing streak this year. It was the Warriors’ second victory on their opponents’ home court in eight tries this year.
Junior guard Michael Stallings hit two three-point field goals to spark the 12-4 run after the Falcons had raced to a ten-point, 18-8 lead seven minutes into the game.
Stallings’ third three-point field goal of the first half later shot Eastern into its first tie, 32-32, and ignited a run of 17 straight points that built a 14-point lead, 46-32 in the final seconds of the first half.. Eastern held Albertus scoreless from the field over the final seven minutes of the first half to gain the momentum.
Albertus 6-foot-1 inch senior guard Tim Russell, the current NCAA all-division scoring leader with a 30.4 scoring average, amassed a game-high 38 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the floor and 12-for-14 marksmanship from the free-throw line. Russell reached the career 2,000-point plateau with his first field goal of the game, a fadeway jumper in the lane two minutes and 36 seconds into the game.
Guarded closely by 6-foot-2 inch sophomore guard Geoffrey Richardson, Russell missed eight of 12 attempts from the floor and finished the first half with only ten points as Eastern took a 13-point, 46-33 advantage into the lockerroom. Twenty-two of Russell’s points came after his team had fallen behind by 15 points seven minutes into the second half and were only enough to pull his team to within as close as 13 points. He had 28 of his team’s 46 points in the second half.
First-year sophomore forward Leon Martin and senior forward Jeroy Smith combined to sink 13 of 17 attempts from the floor for Eastern. Smith led five double-figure scorers with 17 points (6-for-9 from the floor), nine rebounds and five assists; Martin had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Martin was 7-for-8 from the floor against the Falcons to improve his season shooting average to 67.2 per cent.
Eastern sophomore guard Matt Albon had a season-high 15 points, matching Stallings with three three-point field goals. Stallings finished with 15 points, 13 coming in the first half.
Freshman guard Shiwon Davis had 14 points, a career-high eight rebounds and four assists and turned the ball over only once in 29 minutes.
The teams combined to sink 18 three-point field goals, eight of them (four for each team) coming in a span of less than four minutes in the second half. Russell had both of his in that stretch while senior forward Mike Bartunek and Albon each had two for Eastern.
Albertus featured only six players in uniform and played the final 5:21 without a substitute after freshman forward Bryan Durr picked up his fifth personal foul. Two players finished with four personal fouls for the Falcons.
Eastern returns to Little East Conference action Saturday at Massachusetts Dartmouth at 1 p.m.
Eastern Conn. 96, Albertus Magnus College79
EASTERN CONN (6-13): Matt Albon 5-10 2-2 15; Geoffrey Richardson 3-10 2-2 8; Shiwon Davis 5-8 4-7 14; Leon Martin 7-8 1-2 16; Jeroy Smith 6-9 5-8 17; Daniel DeJesus 1-2 0-0 3; Tyrone Murphy 0-1 0-1 0; Mike Bartunek 3-7 0-0 8; Michael Stallings 5-11 2-3 15; Kris Johnson 0-1 0-0 0; Saliym Wilson 0-2 0-0 0; Dan Trudeau 0-0 0-0 0. TOTAL: 35-69 16-25 96.
ALBERTUS MAGNUS (3-17):Tim Russell 12-25 12-14 38;Vaughn Butler 3-7 1-1 7; Tom Eckert 5-13 2-2 16; Nick Wajanawoski 3-4 2-2 10; Bill Rose 1-6 0-0 2; Bryan Durr 2-2 2-4 6. TOTAL: 26-57 19-23 79.
Score at halftime: E, 46-33.
Three-point goals: E 10-27 (Albon 3-5, Stallings 3-7, Bartunek 2-4, Martin 1-1, DeJesus 1-2, Richardson 0-6, Davis 0-1, Johnson 0-1; A 8-17 (Eckert 4-9, Wajanawoski 2-2, Russell 2-6); Rebounds: E 40 (Smith 9, Davis 8, Martin 8, A 32 (Butler 7); Assists: E 16 (Smith 5, Davis 4, Richardson 4); A 17 (Russell 6, Eckert 5).