Four Starters in Double Figures Push Men's Basketball Past NYIT, 81-73
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 12, 2010) – Four starters in double figures gave C.W. Post all the offense it needed as the men's basketball team posted an 81-73 victory over New York Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon in East Coast Conference action.
The Pioneers improve to 17-7, 14-3 in the ECC, while NYIT bumps to 10-12, 8-9 in conference play.
C.W. Post opened up the game with a 5-0 run, and quickly pushed out to a double-digit lead in the first five minutes, up 16-5 at the 15:39 mark. The Pioneer lead fluctuated between 8-12 over the next ten minutes of play, but with 5:25 remaining, NYIT began to claw back into the game. Russell Holloway converted a three-point play, and Daniel Berg hit 1-2 free throws. A Pioneer turnover and another basket by Berg cut the lead down to 28-25 with 4:17 to play.
The teams traded baskets as the Pioneers hung onto the lead, pushing to a seven point lead after a Stefan Bonneau (Middletown, N.Y.) jumper with 1:25 remaining in the half. But NYIT countered yet again and Eric Rodriguez swished a three-pointer with just one second to play before halftime to trim the Pioneer advantage to just two points, 38-36, heading into the break.
The second half started similartly, as the team continued to trade baskets over the first five minutes of play, and with 15:20 remaining, C.W. Post led by four, 47-43. But the Pioneers began to pull away, pushing the lead into double digits after a layup by Bonneau at 11:29, and C.W. Post led 58-47.
NYIT stayed in the game, but the hosts held the Bears at arms length until the waning moments of the game, as the lead remained firmly between 8-12 points. NYIT's Kayvon Roberts hit a long three with 26 seconds remaining to pull to within five, 78-73, but senior forward Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.) answered back with a dunk less than ten seconds later to make it a seven-point lead for CWP as the Pioneers eased to the victory.
Hall led the scoring parade with 16 points, while Bonneau chipped in with 14. Sophomore guard Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) added 12 points, and junior guard Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.) contributed 10 points and 11 assists in notching his second double-double of the season.
The Pioneers shot 49.2% from the floor (30-61) and made 6-16 shots from deep, while hitting 15-22 shots from the charity stripe. CWP also held a slip 36-34 advantage on the glass, but had a much better assist-turnover ratio then their opponents, 22-11 compared to 9-16 for the Bears.
C.W. Post returns to the road as the Pioneers travel to Molloy for a Long Island matchup on Wednesday, starting at 8 p.m.