ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The Rosemont College men's basketball team stung the host Eastern University Eagles this afternoon, claiming an impressive 68-58 win over the home side in the season-opener for both teams.

Marcus Thomas led the attack for the Ravens, scoring 28 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 16-for-17 (94%) from the line. Jamier Hughes reeled in 10 boards and Kyle Lafferty scored 11 to support the visitors this afternoon.

In what was a closely-contested first half, a jumper fromKhadim Diaw gave the Ravens their first lead of the game, 6-4, almost five minutes into the contest. As events unfolded, the Ravens would lead the Eagles for the rest of the game.

A free throw from Charles Presley would give the Ravens their largest lead of the first half, 11 points, with 8:54 remaining before the break. The Ravens would give up some ground for the rest of the half as Eastern would chip Rosemont's lead back to 26-23 with 2:56 left in the half, but Rosemont had the answers as the half approached, outscoring the Eagles 8-5 down the stretch to hold a six-point lead, 34-28 at the break.

Eastern would make a comeback bid early in the second half, coming to within six points at 40-34 with 16:57 remaining, but the Ravens would then go on a 14-6 run to grab their then-largest lead of the game, 54-40 with 10:39 left. The Ravens were successful at matching Eastern in scoring while running down the clock. A couple of Marcus Thomas free throws with 3:57 left boosted the Ravens' lead to 15 points, 65-50 with four minutes left.

The Ravens would need to continue to run the clock while holding down any Eagles significant attack down the stretch, and that's exactly what Rosemont did, as the Ravens calmly shot 10-for-11 from the charity stripe over those final four minutes to salt this game away into the win column.

The Ravens will hold their home opener against DeSales University on Tuesday, 11/17 starting at 8:00pm in Alumnae Hall.