COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's basketball fell prey to a late first-half scoring barrage by visiting Eastern, who closed the opening frame on a 13-0 run and never looked back en route to an 81-65 non-conference triumph.
Senior Matt Knowles poured in a game-high 24 points and junior Zach Quattro fell just shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds for Ursinus (5-3). Austin Carroll had 20 points, Shaquan Turk posted 18, and Anthony Concepcion chipped in 11 for the high-flying Eagles (5-2), who came in averaging north of 84 points per game.
After a sloppy start, Eastern found its rhythm midway through the first half. The Eagles overcame some early turnover issues with lockdown defense, limiting the Centennial Conference's top scoring offense to just 6-of-27 shooting (22.2 percent) and forcing nine first-half miscues by the Bears.
Ursinus trailed just 9-8 after a basket inside by freshman Shane Stark at the 13:17 mark, but the home side managed just three points over the next five minutes as Eastern gradually built up a 13-point lead on a 3-pointer by Anthony Concepcion that made it 24-11 with 8:07 showing on the clock. A 9-2 spurt featuring four free throws by sophomore Zack Muredda and five quick points by Knowles pulled Ursinus within 29-22, but the Eagles closed the half with a flurry.
Carroll jump-started the finishing spurt with a deep triple before Turk, the MAC Freedom's second-leading scorer, had a three-point play and a lay-up in transition on consecutive possessions. Turk's two free throws preceded a buzzer-beating trey by Austin James, who put the visitors ahead by 20 (44-24) at the break.
The Bears shot 52.9 percent from the field in the second half (18 of 34), but could get no closer than 15 points. After eight first-half turnovers, Eastern committed only one over the final 23:25 of game time.
Knowles finished 9 of 18 from the field and made 4 of 9 from distance, while Quattro was 7 for 16. Quattro, who had three blocks and two assists, helped Ursinus net a 41-38 edge on the glass, with Stark snaring six boards. The Bears, however, turned it over 15 times and went just 5 for 20 (25.0 percent) from 3-point range.
Junior Brian Rafferty had a game-high five assists for Ursinus. Freshman Jake O'Neill pulled down a rebound in his collegiate debut.
The Bears welcome Rosemont to Helfferich Hall for the finale of a four-game home stand on Wednesday, December 21.
