Kohler Leads Men's Basketball To 89-84 Win Over Bloomfield In Home Opener
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 30, 2010) – Sophomore guard Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds and combined the effort with 19 points for his first double-double of the year, as he led the C.W. Post men's basketball team to a victory in its home opener with a non-conference win over Bloomfield, 89-84, on Tuesday evening at the Pratt Recreation Center.
The Pioneers started out slow in the first half as Bloomfield jumped out to an early lead, holding a 13-5 (15:36) advantage out of the gate. The Pioneers picked up the pace, however, sparked by a 10-2 run that saw three different players nail three pointers, and drew to 16-15 with 12:25 to play in the half.
C.W. Post took over the lead at the eight minute mark as junior guard Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.) drilled a trey, but relinquished it at 6:52 after Ryan Rodrigues swished a three for the Deacons. The visitors held onto the lead for the remainder of the half and the Pioneers went into halftime trailing by four points.
C.W. Post charged out of the second half and quickly tied the game, then took the lead as sophomore guard Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) converted two free throws and gave the hosts a 47-26 advantage (18:15).
The teams traded buckets and took turns taking the lead but junior Stefan Bonneau (Middletown, N.Y.) floated a jumper at 16:53 that put the Pioneers on top 51-50, and the Pioneers would not trail for the remainder of the game.
Bloomfield did not go down without a fight, however, as the Pioneers grew their lead to seven points at 14:37 (58-51), only to watch Bloomfield chip away to within one basket. The battle continued until Bloomfield finally tied the game with just over three minutes remaining, knotting the score at 77 apiece on a Gage Daye jumper.
But senior forward Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.) hit two free throws to push the lead back to two, and although Bloomfield cut it right back to a one-point game, another two free throws by Carberry stretched the lead to three points, and a free throw by Butler made it a four-point Pioneer advantage, 82-78 with 1:16 to play.
Up by six points with 29 seconds remaining after an emphatic dunk by freshman forward Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), Bloomfield nailed a three on its next possession and twice missed the game tying three pointer following several missed free throws by the Pioneers. Finally, with one second remaining, Bonneau hit two shots from the charity stripe to seal the win for C.W. Post.
Kohler's performance came on 7-for-17 shooting, as the sophomore was joined by Hall as the high scorers of the game, with Hall adding 19 points as well. Bonneau added 13 points while Allen chipped in with 10. Senior guard Gil Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.) paced the green and gold with nine assists on the evening.
For Bloomfield, Daye recorded a double-double with 11 boards and 13 points, while Rodrigues and Matt Wafula each notched 17 points, and Art Ellis added 16.
C.W. Post shot 40.0% from the field (30-for-75) and did not help themselves from the charity stripe, making 20-of-31. But an outstanding rebounding effort gave them the 53-43 edge over the Deacons as C.W. Post scored 23 second-chance points. The Pioneers dished out 18 assists to 14 turnovers and scored 11 points off 12 Bloomfield turnovers.
The Pioneers continue action tomorrow as they travel to Mercy for the East Coast Conference opener, starting at 7:30 p.m.