NYIT Claws Past Men's Basketball, 65-62
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 23, 2013) – The LIU Post men's basketball team fell to East Coast Conference foe New York Institute of Technology 65-62 on Senior Day in Pratt Recreation Center.
Following two made free throws from NYIT's Dominic Scurry, senior Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) was off target on a three-point shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.
The loss was just the second for the Pioneers in their last six games, as they have a 17-8 overall record that includes a 12-5 mark in ECC play. The Bears improved to 18-9 on the season and pull into a tie for second place with the Pioneers with identical 12-5 marks.
Junior Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) scored the first six points of the contest for the Pioneers with a layup, tip-in and jumper, as the game begin with both teams battling back and forth for the lead. Threes from freshman Emile Blackman (Dix Hills, N.Y.) and Carberry put LIU Post up 16-15 with 9:26 left in the first half, but free throws from Scurry and a three from junior Phil Izevbehai put the Bears on top again.
Sophomore Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) hit a jumper for the Pioneers to end the first half scoring and tie the contest at 32 at the midway point. LIU Post took advantage of the five Bears turnovers in the first half, scoring nine points off of them. The largest lead for either team in the first half was just three points.
Senior Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.) opened the second half with a jumper but Antone Brown responded with Bears basket at 18:36 mark. From that point on, LIU Post went on a 15-3 tear that began with a three point play from Carberry and was capped by an Allen tip-in. The Pioneers lead ballooned to as much as 13 when they were up 54-41 with 10:37 left to play.
However, the Bears clawed their way back into the contest, countering with a 14-2 run that cut the Pioneer lead to one with 4:52 to go. NYIT took a 60-59 lead off a jumper from junior Markus Moore at 2:34 and would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest. Blackman sank a free throw that reduced the deficit to a single point, but an ensuing turnover on the Pioneers next possession led to Scurry's two free throws that sealed the deal.
Allen finished with a double double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Carberry chipped in 15 points of his own in his final regular season home game as a Pioneer and Butler had a game high eight assists. Izevbehai led NYIT with 18 points including a three for nine performance from behind the three point arc. Brown also contributed 10 points in the Bears win. Points in the paint were the difference makers for the Bears, who outscored the Pioneers 42-34 near the basket and shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the field.
LIU Post will travel to Molloy College, which is second in the ECC, to play in their regular season finale scheduled for March 2.