DAYTONA BEACH – Sophomore guard Collin Jordan (Cheshire) hit consecutive three-point field goals during an eight-point scoring run which sliced a late 14-point deficit to four, but the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team scored only two points on its final ten possessions in a 61-53 loss to LaGrange College Monday afternoon in the Daytona Beach Shootout at the Ocean Center Arena.

The only three-point field goals of the game made by 6-foot-7 inch Mike White, 6-foor-8 inch Drew Vanderbook and Tyler Langston helped LaGrange (8-2) move out to its 14-point, 55-41 lead with 7:23 left before Eastern (8-4) climbed back into contention behind Jordan's only two three-pointers of the game less than a minute apart that made it 55-51 with 4:36 left.

With an opportunity to dig deeper into the deficit, Eastern missed a free throw and White answered with an inside basket to make it 57-51. Following the missed free throw, the Warriors turned the ball over, then missed five straight shots and seven of their last eight.

Eastern survived 32.2 shooting from the floor, 16 missed free throws and 22 turnovers in a 66-60 overtime win over Berry College Sunday, but was not as fortunate against a more talented LaGrange team Monday when it couldn't withstand 36.8 percent field goal shooting, 6-of-13 shooting from the stripe, and 21 turnovers.

Sunday at Daytona Beach, LaGrange had a six-game winning streak ended when it missed 14 free throws in an 87-83 loss to Lynchburg College. Against Eastern, the Panthers sank 14 of 17 from the stripe. They were 9-of-11 on free throws in the second half while the Warriors came up empty on five second-half freebies.

Sophomore guard Tarchee Brown (Rockville) paced Eastern offensively for the second time in as many days with 14 points, junior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) chipping in 12 and Jordan ten. Lindo and senior guard Kevin Leumene (Stamford) each grabbed 11 rebounds to carry the Warriors to a +11 margin on the glass. The rebounds were a season-high for Leumene, two shy of his career best. Lindo blocked two shots (giving him seven in two games in Daytona), the second one with 12:44 left moving him into a tie first all-time with Leon Martin '08 with 117.

Junior guard Justyn Olson of LaGrange led all players with 18 points, seven of his points coming on eight free throw attempts. Coming off a career-high 33-point showing against Lynch, senior guard Mark Wagner managed only nine points in 30 minutes (two in the second half) Monday.

Senior guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) scored seven points in 12 minutes off the bench as he continues to work through an injury. The 1,000-point scorer had eight points in 15 minutes in two games in Daytona Beach, moving one point ahead of E-Club Hall of Famer Ron Pires into eighth place all-time with 1,343 points. Preston averages 14.4 points in his 93-game career, the same scoring average of all-time scoring leader Nick Nedwick (1,657 points) in his 115-game career between 2008 and 2012.

After White's three-pointer with 17 minutes left extended LaGrange's lead to 12 (40-28), Preston answered with his only three-pointer of the game on the Warriors' next possession after entering the game moments earlier, and after Lindo's record-tying block, Preston sank a jumper with make it 43-33 with 16 minutes left.

 Eastern visits No. 3 nationally-ranked Amherst College Jan. 5 at 7 p.m