Men's Basketball Suffers 77-63 Loss to AIC in Tip-Off Tourney
Box Score BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 16, 2014) - Despite five threes from junior guard
Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.), the LIU Post men's basketball team lost by a 77-63 final to American International Sunday on Day Two of the LIU Post Tip-Off Tournament at the Pratt Recreation Center.
After a back-and-forth opening half, the Pioneers (0-2), who trailed 29-28 just 30 seconds into the latter session, rattled off a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead (35-29) with 17:52 left. Senior guard
P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and sophomore forward
Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) bookended the burst with baskets in the paint. Junior guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) sandwiched it with a trey from the top of the key.
The Yellow Jackets (2-0) fired back though, using a 14-1 response in a three-plus minute spurt to go in front, 43-36. Senior guard Bobby Harris (Berlin, N.J.) and senior forward Marcus Porter (New Castle, Del.) each knocked down a pair of trifectas to anchor the streak. AIC eventually built as much as a 10-point cushion (60-50) at the 6:49 mark, via a Trahmier Burrell (Albany, N.Y.) jay, and never looked back.
In the first half, LIU Post, which shot at a 37.1 percent (23-of-62) clip in the game, rebounded from an early deficit. Down 11-3 more than four minutes into the contest, the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run to grab a 12-11 advantage with 10:48 remaining. Maduegbunam knocked down back-to-back shots from downtown to put the green and gold ahead. The hosts would later hold a one-point edge (28-27) at the intermission.
Dotson paced LIU Post's offensive efforts on the afternoon with 18 points and eight rebounds. He was 7-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the line. Maduegbunam collected 17 points, alongside four boards and two steals. Torres had seven points, four rebounds and four assists. Senior forward
Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) added eight boards, four points and two blocks.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and the Pioneers continue their season-opening five-game homestand Wednesday (Nov. 19), when they host Bloomfield in a non-conference tilt at the Pratt Recreation Center at 7 p.m.