ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Basketball claimed a 73-72 home win over the visiting Salisbury University Sea Gulls in the season opener for both squads. The Eagles built a 19-4 lead early and never trailed in the win. Senior guard Draig Cooley led the way with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a pair of blocks.

Though the Eagles built the early lead, the Sea Gulls chipped away and pulled to within a single possession with a little more than four minutes left in the game. Five different Eastern players scored over the final four minutes to help hold off the visitors.

Leading 60-58, Jaron Fairweather put away a dunk in transition on a nice bounce pass from Joshua Grant to build the lead to four. After a Salisbury free throw, Kaeshawn Ward hit a tough floater in the lane at the end of an extended possession, but Salisbury answered with a 3-pointer from Gary Briddell to pull within two points with two and a half minutes left. Briddell, who averaged less than five points per game last season, posted a game-high 30.

After a Salisbury timeout, Cooley found William Blet for a tough lay-up inside, but Briddell again answered with a bucket. His put-back closed the Eastern lead to 66-64. Sam Gallardo converted a pair at the line to build the lead back to four, but again the Sea Gulls had an answer.

On the ensuing possession, Ward missed a lay-up in traffic, but Fairweather pulled away the offensive rebound to allow the Eagles to reset and call a time out. On the inbounds play, Cooley took a hand-off from Blet and beat a pair of defenders to the rim to build the lead back to four.

After Gallardo split a pair at the line, the Sea Gulls scored the next four points to close the gap to 71-70 with six seconds left. Ward hit a pair of clutch free throws and the Eagles elected to foul Briddell before he could get into a shooting motion, he made both and Eastern was able to inbound the ball and close out the game.

The Eagles seemed to surprise the Sea Gulls with early defensive pressure. Eastern had four steals in the opening five minutes and built a 15-2 edge. Cooley got the near-capacity crowd into it with an early steal and dunk for a 4-0 lead.

Eastern hit three 3-pointers in a minute on the way to the big lead. Ward, Blet, and Terron Bacon each hit from distance, but the Eagles would not make a long-range shot the rest of the way. With shots from distance not falling, the Eastern team was less effective in half court sets, and Salisbury closed the gap to 35-32 before Cooley hit a pair of free throws to close the half.

The Eagles started the second half with another flurry and built the lead to ten within a few minutes. The lead was still ten at 58-48 on a Bacon lay-up with nine and a half minutes to play.

"They are a good team." Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "Their number five surprised us in that he really did not take a lot of shots on the film we saw, but I think we saw a glimpse of who we can be. We were able to rebound as a group and cause problems with defense. I am pleased that we were able to see that. There is still room for improvement, but I think we got a look at what we can do."

Blet and Ward joined Cooley in double figures with 13 points and Joshua Grant had eight points, three assists, and a pair of steals off the bench. Blet led the Eagles on the boards with eight defensive rebounds. Eastern had a 42-35 edge on the glass.

Eastern will be at Roanoke for a tournament next weekend.