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St. David's, PA (February 18, 2012) – A five-point possession with 33 seconds left erased a three-point Eastern University deficit and a three-pointer from sophomore Mike Coleman on the Bulldogs next possession rimmed in and out as the DeSales University men's basketball team fell to the Eagles, 68-66, giving the Eagles the final Freedom Conference playoff spot on Saturday afternoon.

DeSales (15-10, 8-6 Freedom) led by three after two Coleman free throws with 38 seconds left before senior Martin Soaries drove the lane for a running one-hander while being fouled with 33 ticks left.  His free throw was off the mark, but EU's Dan Werth grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to a wide open Michael Donatoni in the corner who didn't hesitate in launching a three from the corner that found the bottom of the net giving the Eagles a 67-65 lead.

DSU got the ball and Coleman let go on a three-pointer from the top of the key that would have re-taken the lead, but the shot rimmed in and then spun out as Soaries grabbed the board.

He was only able to hit 1-of-2 from the line as the Bulldogs called timeout on the rebound.  Out of a timeout, Eastern immediately fouled Coleman with 2.4 seconds left and he calmly sank the first free throw making it a two-point game as the Bulldogs called timeout.

Coleman missed the second and the rebound bounced off an Eagle with 1.4 still left on the clock.  On the inbounds, Coleman's pass flew over everyone into the backcourt but touched no one as the clock did not start.  Senior Bob Zanneo raced to get the ball, took one dribble, and launched a desperation shot at the buzzer from half court that would have counted but it hit front rim giving EU the two-point win.

DeSales finishes the regular season 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the Freedom Conference and tied for third place with FDU-Florham (who defeated Delaware Valley College, 61-60, on Saturday) and Eastern University but lose the tiebreaker between the three teams to finish fifth in the standings.  The Bulldogs season may not be over however as the Bulldogs now must wait till next Monday, February 27th to see if they receive an ECAC South Region Tournament bid.

After trailing 13-11 mid-way thru the first-half, DSU closed the first 20 minutes on a 26-11 run to take a commanding 37-24 lead into the locker room.  Junior Brett Moyer dominated the Eagles, scoring 18 first-half points, while senior Collin Whipple kept Eastern in the game with 16 first-half points.

Eastern closed the gap to seven points early in the second-half before an 8-0 run gave DSU its largest lead of the game (15 points – 47-32) with 12:26 remaining.  DeSales continued to lead by 15 with 10:35 left when Eastern scored nine straight points to get within six (51-45) with 8:53 to go.

Moyer answered with a bucket and two free throws to push the lead back to 10 points but then picked up his fourth foul with 5:57 to go and Eastern scored eight straight points on two three's from Donatoni and a lay-up from Soaries before Moyer returned to the game and the Bulldogs clinging to a one-point lead (56-55) with 3:21 left.

Coleman then began to assert himself offensively, scoring the next nine DeSales' points, after Moyer fouled out with 2:38 left to play, as the two teams traded baskets.  Coleman's last two points in that nine-point run gave DSU a 65-62 lead with 38 seconds left setting up the final moments of the game.

Moyer finished with a season and career-high tying 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds, while also becoming the 24th player in school history to record 1,000 career points.  Moyer now has 1,003 career points.  Coleman added 17 points, 10 of which came in the last three minutes of the game.  Zanneo added 11 points and senior Tom Marshall played well with five assists and nine rebounds.

Whipple led Eagles with a game-high 27 points, Donatoni finished with 18 points, and Soaries added 10 points and six rebounds as that trio combined to score 55 of Eastern's 68 points.