ST. DAVID'S, Pa. –
Garrison Linton (New Market, Md./Oakdale) finished with a triple-double for just the second time in school history, and the first since 2007, but it was not enough for the Hood College men's basketball team to come back against Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent Eastern Univesrity as the Blazers fell 93-84.
Inside the Box Score
Linton ended the afternoon with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and four steals.
Trumaine Strickland (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) finished the game with 13 points.
Garrett Cox (Glen Allen, VA/Glen Allen) scored 12 points, adding eight rebounds and two blocks.
How it Happened
The two squads played fairly evenly through the first 10 minutes of the game, with Eastern holding a 23-21 edge after a Cox layup.
Despite Hood keeping the game within arm's reach for most of the period, the Eagles went on a massive 22-7 run in the final six minutes, nearly doubling their score to put the Blazers in a tough 54-34 hole at halftime.
It looked like there was no hope for Hood coming out to the second half, as Eastern stretched their lead to 26 points after another three-pointer from Jaron Fairweather with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Blazers were not out of it just yet.
A layup from
Soren Almquist (Oakton, Va./James Madison) sparked a 24-6 run for Hood, cutting the deficit to just eight points with six minutes left, and the Blazers continued to creep up on the Eagles as they cut their lead to just five with 3:39 remaining.
Unfortunately, Hood just did not have enough gas in the tank, as a three-pointer from Fairweather was able to slow the Blazers down enough to regain control of the game before the final buzzer confirmed the 93-84 final.
For the Opponent
Fairweather scored 39 points and came down with 10 rebounds.
Analysis
Eastern shot 51 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range, while Hood shot just 44 percent from the field and 26 percent from three-point range.
The Eagles outrebounded the Blazers 41-35.
Hood's bench outscored Eastern's 42-20.
Notes
"The teams know each other extremely well at this point, and when you add in playing on the road, it makes it even tougher," said Head Coach
Chad Dickman when asked about the rematch between the squads. "Our guys battled and fought back in the second half, but the hump was just a little too big to get over…"
Hood falls to 17-5 (9-3), while Eastern improves to 16-7 (8-4).
Up Next
The Blazers head to Reading, Pennsylvania to face MAC Commonwealth opponent Alvernia in the penultimate regular season game Tuesday, February 13 at 7 p.m.
