Morristown, N.J. - The College of Saint Elizabeth's men's basketball team (7-14, 6-11 NEAC) put forth one of its best efforts of the season, but it was not enough as Morrisville State defeated the Eagles, 80-71 on Saturday afternoon.

Jason Saldiveri once again paced the Eagles with 28 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Marlon Hart pitched in with 13 points and ten rebounds while Gabriel Valerio added ten points.

With the game tied at 15 midway through the first half, the mustangs used a 6-0 run to take a 21-15 lead. After the Eagles sliced the deficit to one, Morrisville scored the next eight points to take a 35-26 lead with 2:35 left in the half. CSE trimmed the lead to four before Morrisville scored the final three points to take a 41-34 lead into halftime.

CSE came on strong to open the half, scoring seven straight points to get within 43-41. After Morrisville regained an eight point lead, CSE ripped off nine of the next ten points to tie the game at 52. With a little over nine minutes remaining in regulation, Saldiveri scored five straight points for the Eagles, giving CSE its first lead of the second half at 59-57. With the game tied at 60, Morrisville went on a 8-2 run with four minutes remaining to take a 68-62 lead.

CSE refused to go away, scoring seven straight points to get within 72-71 with 1:50 remaining. Despite getting within one, the Eagles were held scoreless over the final 1:50, while Morrisville knocked down eight straight free-throws, taking the game by nine.

CSE returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Cazenovia College in its home finale at 2 pm.