READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 63-61 conference loss to a talented Eastern team in the Bollman Center on Wednesday evening.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 2-4 in MAC Commonwealth action and 6-8 overall. Meanwhile, the Eagles remain undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record and advance to 11-3 overall.
 
Senior Sidney Brown led Albright with 16 points behind 6-for-17 shooting from the field and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc and added five steals. Senior Isaiah Harris followed with 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the field and four rebounds. Junior Robert Mangum added ten points on 4-for-6 shooting, three rebounds, and two assists off the bench. Senior Troy Smoot and junior Sean Miller posted eight points apiece.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle to start the game, as the teams tied the game up at 12 at the 8:28-mark of the first half. Eastern pulled ahead by five after a 7-2 run at the 6:28-mark. A three-pointer from Brown got the Lions back within three, bringing the score to 19-17. The two teams continued to trade baskets, with Eastern holding onto the lead. The Eagles then used an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the half at seven points, but the Lions first-year Eric Chamberlain netted the final bucket of the half to cut their deficit to 33-28.
 
Harris sparked an 11-1 run for Albright coming out of the break that put them ahead of Eastern 39-34. The Eagles took the lead once again with seven unanswered points, but Mangum tied the game up at 41 with a basket at the 11:57-mark. Eastern pulled back ahead with a shot from downtown, but Chamberlain tied the game up once again at 44 with a three-point play. The Eagles then used an 8-3 run to take a six-point lead. A three-pointer by Smoot and back-to-back baskets from Mangum and senior Deion Booker gave Albright back the lead with a 54-53 advantage at the 6:26-mark. The two teams traded leads twice more, with Albright hanging onto a three-point lead with over three minutes left to play. A basket and a couple trips to the free-throw line allowed the Eagles to take the lead one final time. Eastern netted a big game ending three-pointer to give them a four-point lead with 20 seconds to spare, but the Lions were only able to get one final shot to fall from Mangum as the Eagles claimed the 63-61 victory.
 
Albright shot 24-for-59 (40.7%) from the field, 6-for-16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc, and 7-for-11 (63.6%) from the charity stripe. The Lions forced a rare 22 turnovers for the Eagles and netted 30 points in the paint. Meanwhile, Eastern shot 22-for-50 (44.0%) from the floor, 5-for-14 (35.7%) from three-point range, and 14-for-23 (60.9%) from the free-throw line. The Eagles won the battle on the glass 39-29 and tallied 17 points off Albright turnovers.
 
The Lions will return to the Bollman Center on Saturday to host Stevenson for MAC Commonwealth action at 3 p.m.