St. Davids, PA. 17 Jan., 2020 –After recovering from a first-half five-point deficit, EU Men’s Basketball rallied through the second half to obtain a hard-fought victory over MAC Freedom rivals, the Wilkes University Colonels.
Leading the offense for the Eagles were Victor Peña with 16 points and 9 rebounds, Draig Ruff with 12 points and 7 rebounds, William Blett with 12 points and 9 rebounds and Gabe Perez with 8 points and 2 rebounds. Perez also scored two out of the three goals behind the three-point line by the Eagles quintet.
In the first half, the Eagles controlled possession and pace for most of the 20 minutes. However, for the half, the Eagles’ lead never exceeded 9 points, and through 16 minutes of intense play, the Colonels managed to merge the distance to 22-19.
The closing minutes of the first half saw the Colonels’ Sean Coller score a three-pointer to tie the game, while the rest of the Wilkes’ offense pushed a 7-0 run orchestrated by Derek Heiserman. Through half-time, the Colonels held the upper-hand of the game, 29-24.
In the early stages of the second half, the Eagles struggled holding onto possession, as turnovers marred the efforts mounted by their offense.
After reeling a Colonels’ offense thrusted forward by success from behind the three-point line from Bradley Anacreon and Rob Pecorelli, the Eagles initiated a run after a Gabe Perez three-point shot. From this point, Eagles Guard Clifton Adams did a commendable job at managing the Eastern offense with a shot behind the three-point line, overpowering the Colonels and extending the Eagles’ lead 50-40.
With the end of the second half nearing, the game was highlighted by fouls, most notably by the visiting Colonels. This allowed Clifton Adams, William Blet, and Draig Ruff to score at the free-throw line, extending the Eagles’ lead over the Colonels. The final score stood at 67-62.