Queens Hands Men's Basketball First Home Loss, 81-75
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 23, 2010) – The C.W. Post men's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak snapped as the Pioneers dropped an 81-75 contest to a hot-shooting Queens College on Wednesday night in East Coast Conference men's basketball action.
The Pioneers are handed their first home loss all season, and the defeat marks only the third time in the past four seasons the Pioneers have suffered a loss at the Pratt Recreation Center.
C.W. Post slips into second place in the ECC with a 19-8 overall record and a 16-4 conference record, while Queens remains close behind in third place at 18-7, 15-5 ECC.
The Knights caught fire early as they opened up a double-digit lead on the Pioneers in the first half. Down by 11 with 6:19 remaining in the half, C.W. Post began to chip away with back to back jumpers from freshman forward Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and senior forward Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.), cutting the lead to seven points. Sophomore guard Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) hit two free throws, and Amir Tarif (New York, N.Y.) swished a jumper that cut the lead to four points. With 45 seconds left, senior guard Gil Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.) hit two free throws, and then assisted on Carberry's three-pointer as time expired to tie the game 38-38 heading into the halftime break.
The Pioneers took the early lead out of halftime, but the teams traded baskets as well as the lead over the next seven minutes, as the lead changed hands four times and the teams were deadlocked three times. Junior guard Stefan Bonneau's (Middletown, N.Y.) three-point play with 13:52 left in the game tied the scored at 13:53, but Lamonte Lans put the Knights right back on top with a layup at 13:24. The visitors would hold on the lead despite pressure from C.W. Post, who twice pulled to within three points, and with 8:52 left, trailed 62-59. But a 9-2 run by the visitors that took three minutes off the clock allowed Queens to open up a 10-point advantage, 71-61 with 5:56 to play.
C.W. Post continued to battle and clawed closer and closer to the Knights, and after Hall swished a jumper with 36 to play, the Pioneers were down by just a basket, 77-75. But Khalil McDonald's layup by Queens back up by four, and C.W. Post's next two shot attempts were off the mark, and Queens collected the rebound, forcing the Pioneers to foul. Jeremiah Mordi converted both free throws, essentially sealing the game for the Knights as C.W. Post attempted several shots in the final seconds but could not complete the comeback.
Bonneau led the Pioneers on the evening with 20 points on 7-13 shooting, while Hall added 17 points and pulled down a team-high nine boards. Carberry added 15 pints to the effort, and Allen played well off the bench with 10 points.
Queens held a 34-30 advantage on the glass and shot a touch better, making 30-59 attempts from the floor for 50.8% compared to 45.6% for the hosts (26-57 FG). QC also made 9-20 attempts from deep, compared to only 6-21 for C.W. Post.
QC got a game-high 26 points from Lans, as well as 19 points from McDonald, and Edil Lacayo chipped in with 13 points.
C.W. Post will take on first-place Bridgeport on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams, and the game will be nationally televised by CBS College Sports. Tip-off is slated for 12:05 p.m.