RADNOR, Pa. – The Cabrini men's basketball team will retain the bragging rights to Eagle Road for a third consecutive year following a resounding 89-71 victory against rival Eastern University on Monday night at Nerney Field House. The win is the Cavaliers' eighth straight and 20th in a row at home overall.
Senior forward Dom Farrello led a balanced Cabrini attack with a game-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting overall and 3-for-6 shooting from long range. Farrello, who was honored prior to the game's tip for surpassing the 1,000 career points barrier on Jan. 29, also grabbed six rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Cory Lemons and sophomore center Goran Dulac each tallied 16 points. Lemons shot 8-for-13 overall and narrowly missed his sixth career double-double with nine assists. Dulac went perfect from the floor for the second straight game, converting each of his six field goal attempts. He is 11-for-11 from the field over the last two games.
Freshman forward Fran Rafferty also reached double figures, notching 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Rafferty's two 3-point baskets early on in the first half energized a Cabrini offense that boasted four scorers in double figures for the ninth time this season.
The Cavaliers nearly put five double figure scorers in the box score with junior guard John Boyd's nine-point effort. Boyd added six boards.
Cabrini led by as much as 11 points in the first half, 34-23, but held just a six-point cushion at the intermission. Farrello guided the Cavaliers' first half attack, scoring 11 points.
Yet, the Cavaliers stormed the Eagles to open the second half, racing to a game-high 29 point advantage, 76-47, behind a 34-11 run with 9:23 remaining. The Eastern sideline weather the decisive spurt by burning three timeouts in less than a four minute stretch.
The Eagles went away from their regular rotation for the remainder of the contest after using a 30-second timeout at the 13:02 mark.
Cabrini shot 50.0 percent from the field overall in the second half. The Cavaliers have shot 50.0 percent or better from the floor in a half time 13 times this season.
Senior forward Dan Miller led the Eagles with a team-best 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Eastern's leading scorer sophomore forward Alex Nelson, averaging more than 15.0 points per game coming into tonight, was limited to just five points on 1-for-5 shooting in 10 minutes.
The victory is the Cavaliers' fourth straight versus the Eagles and third in a row under third-year head coach Marcus Kahn.
The Blue & White also continues to defend its home floor, improving its record at Nerney Field House this season to 7-0. The Cavaliers have not suffered a loss at home since a 79-67 season-ending defeat against Washington & Jefferson College on March 8, 2009.
Cabrini (14-4, 10-1 CSAC) resumes its Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) regular season schedule on Thursday, Feb. 3 against Immaculata University. Game time against the Mighty Macs is set for approximately 8 p.m.