Box Score
OAKDALE, N.Y. (Jan. 20, 2010) – The C.W. Post men's basketball team was hot early, and the Pioneers jumped out to a 15-point lead midway through the first half, as five players scored in double figures and the Pioneers maintained their comfortable lead throughout the game in a 85-59 defeat of Dowling College on Wednesday evening in East Coast Conference men's basketball action.

C.W. Post wins its ninth straight game, and improves to 12-4 overall and 8-2 in conference play. The Golden Lions slip to 5-13 overall and 3-7 in the ECC.

C.W. Post took a quick 4-0 lead on two free throws by Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) and a layup by Nemanja Jokic (Sombor, Serbia), and at the 15:57 mark, following a lay-in by Kohler, the Pioneers led 11-4. The visitors wasted no time as they grew their lead to double figures, taking a 16-6 advantage following a trey from junior playmaker Gil Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.). 

Pressure defense and an up-tempo offense were the keys to the Pioneers surge, as they saw their lead grow even further as they went on an 11-3 run that was capped by a traditional three-point play from senior forward James Tchana (Douala, Cameroon) at 10:51, and C.W. Post led by 18 points. However, both teams experienced a cold spell from the floor, and poor ball handling led to a scoreless five minutes, which was finally broken when Damir Hamza hit a trey for Dowling at 6:02. 

For the remainder of the half, the lead averaged between 14-17 points, with Dowling creeping to within 13 points on a layup by Josh Lowe, but a floater from Jokic as the buzzer sounded pushed C.W. Post to a 15-point advantage, 40-25, heading into the halftime break.

C.W. Post emerged from the halftime break shooting out to a quick two buckets and pushing to a 19-point advantage, and at the 16:24 mark, following two made free throws by sophomore guard Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.), the Pioneers held a 16-point advantage.   A quick 6-1 run by Dowling cut the Pioneer lead down to 11 points, But C.W. Post scored the next eight points to push back to a sizeable 19 point lead with 10:46 to play.

The rest of the game saw the lead hover around 20-points, bulging to as many as 30 points at the 2:11 mark as Dowling was never able to mount a serious threat to the Pioneer onslaught.

C.W. Post was led on the evening by a double-double from junior forward Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.) who finished with 16 points and 11 boards. Jokic's 17-points effort was a game-hgih as the senior jus missed a double-double of his own with nine rebounds. Kohler continued his stellar run with a 14-point outing, and Montalvo scored 11 points and chipped in with six assists. Senior Roberto Macklin (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring with 10 points and two blocks.

Dowling was led by Hamza's 15 points on 3-4 shooting from long range. David Seagers and Lowe each scored 11, and Mike Hill added 10 points for the Golden Lions.

C.w. Post held a definitive shooting edge, as they shot at a 50.9% clip from the floor (28-55), by far bettering the hosts' 31.3% (21-67 showing. The Pioneers also enjoyed a better night from the charity stripe, making 24-of-29 attempts compared to just 12-of-19 for Dowling. C.W. Post cleaned up on the glass, out-rebounding the Golden Lions 45-32.

The Pioneers look to continue their winning streak as the host NYIT on Saturday, and will look to avenge an early-season loss to the Bears. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.