WINCHESTER, Va.– Eastern University Men's Basketball closed out the game on a 27-7 run to pull away to a 73-60 win over the hosts in the final game of the Winchester Sports Medicine Group Tip-Off Tournament at Shenandoah University. Nick Mate had eight points, a pair of big 3-pointers, and a momentum changing defensive play in the final run. He finished with 17 points on five made 3-pointers. Zubair Lee, Olise Onyeka, and Arkese Claiborne joined Mate in double-figures as the Eagles used strong defense late to overcome a woeful 13-of-27 performance from the foul line a significant rebounding deficit for most of the game.

The Hornets (0-2) finished the contest with 23 offensive rebounds and 22 second chance points, but they had only four offensive rebounds and one second-chance basket in the final nine and a half minutes of the game. When the Eagles took care of their defensive boards, they started to surge.

Shenandoah led 53-46 with 9:46 to play. DaRon Sherman started the Eastern  run with a tough turnaround jumper. The sophomore guard then found Lee for a three-point play to pull the Eagles to within a basket. After a Shenandoah player picked up a foul against Onyeka a second player picked up a technical foul for a frustrated bounce of the ball. Mate made both free throws for the technical, and Onyeka made the first of two to put the Eagles up for the first time since the first half.

The hosts tied the game on a Joseph Baldwin three-point play off an offensive rebound.

After the two teams traded baskets around the five-minute mark, Mate buried a 3-pointer off a feed from Claiborne. On the next possession, the Hornets worked the ball inside, but Onyeka turned away a lay-up attempt with his fourth block of the afternoon. Claiborne grabbed the defensive rebound and scooped in a tough shot to put the Eagles up five. Mate took a charge on the next possession and then hit a tough corner 3-pointer on a pass from Sherman to push the Eastern edge to eight with three minutes to play.

After seeing Roanoke claw back into yesterday's game late, the Eagles kept the defensive focus to the finish and made enough free throws to keep a comfortable margin.

The Hornets scored the final five points of the first half to grab a 37-33 lead at the break. Onyeka had nine points, five rebounds, and three blocks in the opening frame, but the Eagles gave up 11 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points while making only 4-of-11 from the foul line.

The Eagles shot 14-of-27 after intermission. Mate and Lee each had 11 second-half points. Onyeka finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks, and Lee had 19 points and seven rebounds. Claiborne scored 13 points and grabbed five boards.

"This was a really good weekend for our young team," Head Coach Dan Pruessner said after the game. "We were down in the second half in each of these games and figured it out. Obviously, there are things to fix, but for our group to be able to grind out results is a good sign. This team is still finding its identity on offense, and even guys with a lot of experience have had to take some pretty big steps into new roles. Olise had a good weekend with ten blocked shots and a double-double, and Nick made some really big shots tonight. We will have another tough test on Wednesday. 

After their two wins against Old Dominion Athletic Conference opponents, the Eagles will have another road test against a quality opponent on Wednesday. The Eagles are at Rowan, a team that reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament last year.