Prior to tonight’s non-conference game against Lancaster Bible College, Eastern University forward Mike Johnson mentioned to his teammates that they were not going to lose tonight, and that he would get a quadruple double if that is what it was going to take. Johnson didn’t quite get his quadruple double, but the Eagles didn’t quite need it either. With two senior captains out with injury and Lenny DiMaria playing limited minutes in recovering from injury, it seemed they did need the dominating all-around performance from the soft-spoken junior to down the host Chargers 84-76 in front of a sizable and vocal crowd.

The game opened with the Eagles struggling to find their rhythm against the quickness of the undersized Charger team. Johnson and fellow forward Matt Malloy helped the Eagles find the lead with inside baskets, and Matt Flanagan found opportunity to hit shots and proceeded to stretch the Eagle lead to 12 in the opening half. The Chargers took advantage of the free throw line and worked themselves back to a six point deficit at the break.

Johnson and Malloy each had six boards at the break. DiMaria used his minutes well as he attacked the rim and was able to draw fouls.  The eagles only shot nine first half free throws, but connected on seven of them. DiMaria ended the game as Eastern’s high point man with 20 points on 12-16 from the foul line.

After the break, the Eagles came out with a renewed commitment to the inside game. Jason Reels, who sat most of the first half with foul trouble, announced his presence with nine second half points in and around the paint. Johnson(16), Malloy(14), and Flanagan(18) all finished the game in double figures. The Eagles seemed to have several chances to put the game away, but good defensive pressure and timely three-point shooting kept the Chargers within striking distance. Billy Harrison led the Chargers with 29 points.

With Eastern making free throws, the Chargers needed to make three-pointers on every possession to cut into the lead. Johnson’s work blocking shots and clearing the defensive boards kept the Eastern advantage above eight and ultimately helped to salt away the victory. Coach Nadelhoffer said of the game, “We did what we had to do to earn the win. Without David (Volpe), Bobby (Black), and (Joe) Manzo we knew that we were going to need some guys to step up to get this win. Mike was dominating at both ends, and it was good to see Flanagan find confidence in his shot. Malloy put together a good game as well. With the break we have coming up, we needed to get this win and now hopefully we can get healthy.”

The Eagles are off until after the Thanksgiving Holiday.