Less than 24 hours after downing Widener in their first game in a month, the Eagles were back on the court to take on Delaware Valley in another non-conference game. The Aggies were returning to action in their first game since losing at Division I Navy. The Eagles struggled from the foul line, but shot 63% from the field in the second half to pull away to a 77-70 win. Matt Malloy led the Eagles with 17 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Eagles start quickly
Hot early shooting and good ball movement helped the Eagles to jump to a 22-12 lead. The Eagles stormed out of the gate with seven assists on their first ten baskets. In the second game in two days, the Eastern staff went into their bench early and got an immediate boost from Kevin Raab. The 6'6 forward hit five of six shots in the first half and finished the game with a career high 16 points. Raab, who entered the game with ten points on the season, found his way into gaps in the Aggie defense and was ready to score as the ball was moving.

The Aggies turned things around with an 11-2 run fueled by switching defenses and execution in the half court. Eric Lawton and Joe Rod each had four points in the stretch that closed the Eagle lead to one. David Volpe, who finished the game with nine points, hit a critical three on a set to lift Eastern back to a four point lead with just under four minutes to play. After Lawton hit another pair of foul shots, Lenny DiMaria boosted the Eagle lead to 30-25 with two and a half minutes to play in the half.

Delaware Valley took advantage of the foul line in the last two minutes of the half to take a 35-34 led into the intermission. The Aggies hit 10-13 foul shots in the first half. Eastern won the battle of the boards in the opening frame and shot 48% to keep the game tight.

Aggies jump out to start second
Delaware Valley junior Zack Van Dyke helped the Aggies to continue their momentum from the end of the first half with eight points in a 10-4 run out of the gate. The rangy forward hit a pair of threes and an inside basket to lift the visitors to a 45-38 lead. The Eagles responded with a stretch of solid possessions where they steadily chipped into the seven point advantage.

In a basket typical of the stretch Brent Williams found Malloy under the basket with a pretty pass, and Malloy calmly dropped in the reverse lay-up. After the sluggish start to the half, Eastern players recorded assists on the next nine consecutive baskets.

Not with a bang but a whimper
After a Mike Johnson put back put the Eagles up 65-60 with five minutes to play, the Eagles began to struggle from the foul line, and had to rely on solid defending to close out the game. While they were 10-16 from the line in the closing minutes, two missed front ends also cost the Eagles as they tried to close out the game.

With Raab's contribution off the bench and 63% shooting in the second half, the Eagles were able to grind out their fifth win in a row. The Eagles were also able to contain and frustrate Aggie standout Isaiah Pinckney, who was held six points below his average with 14 points on the day. Eric Lawton came off the Delaware Valley bench to record a game high 20 points in the loss.

The coaching staff credited Chris Myers, Brent Williams, and Dan Piotrowski with a strong defensive effort in forcing Pinckney into 1-7  from behind the arc and ten turnovers. The 13-26 performance from the line was not particularly troubling to the staff. Nadelhoffer said, "We know we are a much better foul shooting team than that. Some days are just like that. I think the schedule had something to do with our legs not quite being under us in the second half, but we made enough to win, and I think that is a big step for our guys."

Coach Nadelhoffer was very complimentary of Raab in his post game comments. He said, "After the tough minutes of last night's game, we knew that we would need a lift from some different people tonight. Like so many other guys this year, K-Raab was ready when his number was called and he made shots. It seems like we have a different guy step up every night, and that is a good thing. We felt like we moved the ball really well in the second half. Any time you have 25 assists on 30 field goals you are doing some things right. We feel like we have good momentum and chemistry going into the bulk of the conference schedule."

The Eagles will return to action Tuesday night when they host pre-season PAC favorite Wesley college in the second game of a double header.  

BOX