The Eastern Ramblers entered their tilt with the Bard Falcons with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Eastern took down Bard 55-38 on Friday. For Eastern, this counts as revenge for the 75-62 loss Bard walked away with the last time they faced one another back in February of 2023.
Leading Eastern to victory were Rashid Faruq and Isyah Joyner. Faruq scored 18 points along with five assists and two steals, while Joyner dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds. Faruq is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 16 or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Derrick Gatling, who scored nine points.
Bard's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Andre Wright, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. The team also got some help courtesy of LaMardre Anderson-Ward, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds.
Bard struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They are winless (0-6) when they can't control their own glass like that.
Eastern's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-7. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Bard, they are on a nine-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-19.
Eastern has the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome Cardozo at 7:30 p.m. on February 5th. Averaging 71.35 points so far this season, Cardozo's high-powered offense has been in full-swing lately, so Eastern better be ready for a challenge. As for Bard, they will head out on the road to face off against Dunbar at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Bard focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Friday.
