WILLIMANTIC, Conn. --  Junior forward Sharown Fowler (Springfield,  MA) scored 14 of his career-high 22 points in the first half to help the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team to a ten-point halftime cushion on the way to an 83-71 non-conference win over NVU-Johnson Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
 
In a game where Eastern (1-2) never trailed and which matched its largest lead of the game with the final 12-point margin, the 6-foot-5 inch Fowler matched senior guard Cory Muckle (Westbrook) for team-high honors in points (22) and also matched him in rebounds (8).
 
Fowler was 10-of-13 from the floor and converted both of his free throws, while Muckle was 6-of-13 from three-point range and turned the ball over only once in playing all 40 minutes. Muckle is ranked third all-time in three-pointers made and attempted and moved from 28^th all-time in scoring into a tie for 26^th. He has 1,100 career points in his four-year career.
 
Eastern, which played the game without two starting guards, nursed its double-digit lead through the first seven minutes of the second half. After Johnson (0-2) sliced the gap to three points, the Warriors responded by closing out the game on a 12-3 run to pull away. Four different players contributed buckets to that final run.
 
With the Warriors clinging to a 71-68 lead, Fowler scored off his own put back to give Eastern a five-point lead and after Johnson junior forward Malik Moore missed two inside attempts, freshman point guard Jaylin Palmer (East Hartford) grabbed his own miss of a three-pointer, and freshman guard Cade Ensinger (Deep River) canned a three to push the lead back to double digits. Muckle followed moments later to swish a three and Ensigner, making his first career start, dropped in two free throw inside the final minute to secure the win.
 
First-year sophomore transfer forward Quinton Lott (Bridgeport) came off the bench to grab a career-high 12 rebounds in 15 minutes. He also chipped in seven points (five on free throws). After playing nine total minutes without a point in one appearance, Ensinger totaled ten points and five rebounds in 31 minutes Saturday. Freshman guard AJ Edwards (New Haven) had eight points and five assists and Palmer handed out eight assists. First-year sophomore transfer guard Jalen Williams (Simsbury) committed just one turnover in 30 minutes and contributed eight points and four rebounds.
 
Johnson senior Robert Dubose matched his season point total set in an opening loss two nights ago with a game-high 23 points against Eastern. The 6-foot-2 inch guard connected on a variety of inside drives. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Moore had seven points and a team-high nine rebounds and senior guard Ayodeji Shokeye had six points and eight rebounds.
 
The game was the first at home and the first win at home in nearly a year, both coming in Little East play. Until today, the Warriors' last previous win at home had come against Plymouth State (78-70) last Feb. 15 and its last home appearance had come four nights later against Keene State.
 
Eastern hosts NVU-Lyndon Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. in a non-conference game.