No. 23 Cabrini University Cavaliers at Eastern University Eagles
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 8pm
St. Davids, PA

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Last Meeting: Cavaliers hold off 2nd half comeback in 81-66 victory
The Blue and White posted its eighth Battle of Eagle Road title in nine years with an 81-66 season opening win over Eastern.

Cabrini entered the second half with a 37-28 lead, but the Eagles cut their deficit to just three points early in the second half. Midway through the period, the Cavaliers scored on five consecutive possessions before junior Mike Doyle hit classmate Ivan Robinson for a triple and a 58-47 lead.

Senior Tyheim Monroe led the Blue and White with 26 points and 17 rebounds, while Robinson finished with 17 points. Senior Deryl Bagwell added 12 points despite second half foul trouble.

Junior Victor Pena hit 5-9 from the floor for 10 points in 21 minutes, while classmate Austin Duncan paired eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for Eastern.

Cabrini Last Time Out: Cavaliers exit NCAA Tournament with loss to Lycoming (3/3/2017, Middlebury, VT)
The Cavaliers' 13th NCAA Tournament appearance was short on, as a 86-70 loss to then-No. 15 Lycoming in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament closed the Cavaliers' campaign at 19-8.

Despite recording 15 first half turnovers, the Blue and White held a slim 39-36 lead at the half on the strength of 61.9% field goal shooting. Cabrini's hot touch went away in the second half, as the squad went 0-7 from the floor, 1-6 from the free throw line and committed seven turnovers in a decisive seven minute span of the second half.

Bagwell led the Blue and White with 17 points, while Monroe posted 14 points and 17 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season.

Eastern Last Time Out: Eagles fall in 1st round of MAC Freedom Tournament (2/22/2017, St. Davids, PA)
Eastern won a program record 11 conference games to earn a home game in the MAC Freedom tournament, but could not defend its home floor, falling to Misericordia 85-65.

The Eagles trailed 64-59 after a pair Pena free throws with 6:45 to play, but those would be Eastern's last points for more than five minutes, as Misericordia sealed the win with an 18-0 spurt.

Pena paired 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, as Eastern shot just 35.9% from the field and 3-20 from three point range.

5 Factors for Cabrini

• Cabrini received 98 total votes and eight of the 10 first place nods to take the top spot in the CSAC preseason poll.
• Monroe led the nation in rebounds, rebounds per game and double-doubles in each of the last two seasons.
• The Cavaliers are 8-2 in their last 10 season openers, including 4-2 in season-opening road games.
• Cabrini committed just 13.3 turnovers per game last season, tied for second in the CSAC.

5 Factors for Eastern

• Eastern was chosen second in the MAC Freedom Preseason Poll, behind defending conference champion Misericordia.
• The Eagles will look to replace the 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds lost to the graduation of 2016 MAC Freedom Player of the Year Shaquan Turk.
• Over the span of its 26 games, Eastern made one more field goal than its opponents and averaged less than two points more.
• The Eagles feature 10 players taller than 6-3 and players from eight different states and the Dominican Republic.
• Eastern will lean heavily on Pena and Duncan, the team's two top returning scorers. The pair averaged 13.4 and 11.0 points, respectively in 2016-17.

 

	TALE OF THE TAPE*
#23 Cabrini		Eastern
19-8 (13-3 CSAC)	Record	16-10 (11-3 MAC Freedom)
82.7	Points per Game	77.4
.447	FG Percentage	.445
.325	3 Point FG Percentage	.359
41.5	Rebounds per Game	38.5
14.1	Assists per Game	13.1
4.5	Blocked Shots per Game	3.7
9.4	Steals per Game	6.9
13.3	Turnovers per Game	14.2
	RETURNING TEAM LEADERS
Tyheim Monroe (21.8)	Points	Victor Pena (13.4)
Tyheim Monroe (15.8)	Rebounds	Victor Pena (9.3)
Deryl Bagwell (3.2)	Assists	Anthony Concepcion (2.1)
Tyheim Monroe (1.3)	Blocked Shots	Victor Pena (0.9)
Deryl Bagwell (2.3)	Steals per Game	Victory Pena (0.8)
* 2016-17 Statistics