Box Score ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The men's basketball team closes up the regular season with a 108-104 win over Eastern University and their most winningest regular season in program history with a 22-3 record on Saturday night. The team will head Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth playoff play against Alvernia this Wednesday, February 25.
Inside the Box Score
Jevon Yarbrough (Hagerstown, Md./Williamsport) notched his eighth double double of the year with 33 points and 10 assists.
Kullen Robinson (Alexandria, Va./Alexandria City) set the tone in the first half and finishes with 25 points and seven rebounds.
Karron Mallory (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) scores 18 points and dishes six assists on the night.
How it Happened
The Blazers pestered early on defense hindering the Eagles from starting fast, but their success from the field fed to a high power game from both sides. Hood didn't get their fast start either thanks to some turnovers and some foul trouble early. Eastern took hold of the lead in the first ten minutes of the first half before a strand of three's put them back into contention.
After Hood had a stretch of time during this season playing too much isolation basketball, they went back to sharing the rock and being patient with possessions which led to contributions from all around. Hood raced to a 51-44 lead at half.
Eastern clawed back to a one-point deficit, but Yarbrough took from all over. He ran downhill for a few buckets before collapsing the defense on him and kicking out to the likes of Robinson and Huseby. Mallory sent us home with a pair of threes at the eight-minute mark to extend away from any peril.
"Tough win against a dangerous team," said head coach
Chad Dickman. "Made enough plays late in the game to seal it."
"Offensively, we know we are going to put up points, but we have to find ways to get more stops on the other end."
"Overall, I'm really excited about how these guys have performed all season. Going 13-1 in this conference is an impressive feat, so we should be proud of that, but our focus is the conference tournament and doubling up with another championship."
Analysis
Eastern shot 50 percent on the night, but Hood edged them out with 55 percent and almost 64 percent in the second half.
Hood racked up 28 assists on the night, tying their season high they eclipsed this past Wednesday.
Notes
Hood finishes 22-3, 13-2 in conference and alone at the top of the MAC Commonwealth and the program's best mark in conference play.
Eastern finishes at 9-16, playing spoiler at 6-8 in conference but just on the outskirts of contention.
Up Next
The squad will host the first round of the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth at Woodsboro Bank Arena as the No. 1 seed squaring off against No. 4 Alvernia with tipoff set for Wednesday, February 25 at 7 p.m..
