ST. DAVIDS, Pa. -- Taking a brief lead in the second half, Stevenson men's basketball stayed with one or two possessions, but ultimately could not sustain the advantage in a narrow 65-62 road setback at Eastern in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth play on Saturday afternoon. 

Eastern (15-4, 10-2) held a big advantage in free-throw attempts, going to the line 18 times while converting 12. Meanwhile, Stevenson (10-9, 6-7) went just 3-of-6 from the charity stripe. On the flip side, Stevenson made nine three-point baskets in the contest compared to just three for the Eagles in a close matchup. 

Ronald Ayers dropped in 16 points to pace the Mustangs, while Khalil Richard posted 13 points and five rebounds. With four in double digits, Draig Cooley paced Eastern with a game-high 17 points. William Blet recorded a double-double behind 12 points and 14 rebounds. 

• Stevenson got on the board with a triple from Ayers at 17:37 for a 3-2 lead as both sides needed some time to settle in. Another triple from Ayers followed by a trey ball from Jalen Jacox leveled the score at nine before a 7-3 Eastern run lifted the Eagles in front midway through the half. 
• The earlier surge was part of a larger 15-2 spurt for Eastern, which expanded the lead to 13, the largest of the frame for the hosts. A Bo Wesley dunk kickstarted a 15-7 Stevenson run to close out the opening half. 
• Khalil Richard provided a three-point bucket, trimming the Stevenson deficit to three at 28-25. Ultimately it was Eastern that went into the intermission ahead 31-26. 

• Both sides traded baskets in the opening moments of the second half as Eastern maintained its lead at 39-33. Things remained tightly contested as Stevenson narrowed the gap to one possession. 
• The narrow margin would be a theme throughout the second half as both sides traded chances with neither able to pull away. 
• A 7-0 scoring run, which included baskets from Nate Arrington and Merlon Devine, lifted the Mustangs to a 40-39 edge. Eastern responded quickly, but an Arrington layup handed the Mustangs a 46-45 lead at the 7:45 mark. 
• From there, a 14-5 Eastern run lifted the Eagles to a seven-point edge at 59-52. A fastbreak bucket from Richard cut the Stevenson deficit back to one with 18 seconds remaining. 
• Again the Mustangs trailed by one following a triple from Ayers with six seconds left before Cooley canned two foul shots for the final 65-62 margin. 

• With 16 points, Ayers was just three points shy of matching a season-high for the Mustangs. 
• The Mustangs once again got a spark from their bench, this time paced by nine points and 10 rebounds from Arrington. 
• Arrington pulled down double-digit rebounds for the second time in the last three outings. 
• Richard and Ayers posted eight points each in a clunky first half. 
• Eastern went 8-of-13 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes, while the Mustangs were just 1-of-4. 
• Eastern entered the day in second place in the MAC Commonwealth standings, while Stevenson was in fourth. 

• Stevenson: The Mustangs head to Messiah for their final regular-season road matchup on Wednesday, February 9 at 8:00 p.m. 
• Eastern: The Eagles host Albright on Wednesday, February 9 at 8:00 p.m.