Ethan Eichhorst scored 25 points and the Cougars never trailed as the Misericordia University men's basketball team knocked off first-place Delaware Valley 73-60, Saturday in the Anderson Center.
Eichhorst shot 10-of-18 from the field and completed the double-double with 11 rebounds. Senior
Robbie Johnson had 18 points and five assists, while
Sean Bieski chipped in with 11 points and seven boards.
Junior
Jeff Slanovec filled the box score with eight points, 12 boards, five assists and three steals.
Down 42-32 early in the second half, the Aggies scored nine straight points to pull within one and put a scare into their Cougar opponents.
Bieski finally broke the drought with a drive that made it 44-41 with 12:03 to play. Johnson then took over with a fast break bucket and a three-pointer, before another Bieski hoop completed a 9-0 run in a span of just two minutes.
The next time down the floor,
Frank Nutt found Johnson and the captain got to the hole with a nice spin move that made it 53-41 and forced the Aggies to call timeout. MU would lead by at least seven the rest of the way.
Nutt had gotten things started for Misericordia in the first half with a three from the corner. After DVC answered, Eichhorst put the Cougars back in front off a great dump pass from Johnson, and the hosts led the rest of the way.
Johnson went left to right for a tough up-and-under that put MU ahead 9-5, and Nutt finished a nice backdoor cut to stretch the lead to 16-11.
Normally an outside shooter, Slanovec posted up on two consecutive possessions late in the half to give his team a 26-17 lead. The Cougars went up by double-digits for the first time on a turn-around bank shot by Bieski.
DVC was led by senior
James Jones, who finished with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
Jeremy Beckett had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
With the victory, the Cougars (12-7, 5-3) move to within a game of the league-leading Aggies and hold the second-place tie-breaker over DeSales. MU faces a huge trip to nearby Wilkes, Wednesday at 8 PM.
