Men’s Basketball Downs Dallas in First-Ever Meeting, 66-58

MILTON, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team prevailed 66-58 over the University of Dallas to wrap up play in the ENC-Curry Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at Curry College's Katz Gym.

The Lions progress to 6-0 on the year while the Crusaders dip to 1-4 overall.

Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) racked up a team-high 19 points off the bench. Jaylen Owens (Johns Creek, Ga.) finished with 14 points, three steals, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Eric Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) chipped in with 11 points, three assists and eight boards in the contest. David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) paced the squad with 12 rebounds while adding eight points.

Both teams got off to a sluggish start as Eastern Nazarene sported a 19-16 lead at halftime.

The Lions shot 29.6% from the floor and sank one three-pointer on six chances in the first frame. Dallas connected on 27.6% of its field-goal attempts in the opening half and came up empty on seven tries from beyond the arc.

The first 20 minutes of action featured five ties and four lead changes.

Eastern Nazarene strung together seven unanswered points to grab a 17-14 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the half.

After the Crusaders cut the deficit to one with 1:29 left to play, Christian Lynch restored the Lions' advantage to three points with a pair of free throws, 19-16.

Eastern Nazarene established a six-point lead with 11 minutes to go in regulation as Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) converted three free throw shots, 37-31.

The Lions widened the gap to eight, 42-34, with 9:26 left to play in the second stanza on a straight-away trey by Christian Lynch.

Eastern Nazarene drained 4-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe in the final minute of play to lock up its sixth-consecutive win.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 36.7% to go with 33.3% shooting from the perimeter. The Crusaders shot 36.9% from the floor on the afternoon and made three triples on 20 efforts.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns to Katz Gym December 2 to take on Curry in the first Commonwealth Coast Conference game of the season.