BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Dec. 9, 2014) - Despite shooting a brilliant 57.9 percent from three-point range, the LIU Post men's basketball team lost by an 88-82 final to 10th-ranked Southern Connecticut State in non-conference action Tuesday at the Pratt Recreation Center.
Down 8-3 early in the first half, the Pioneers (3-5) rolled off a 17-4 streak in a three-and-a-half minute span to take a 20-12 lead with 13:01 to go. Senior guard
P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and sophomore guard
Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) combined to knock down three trifectas in the run. Torres scored a team-high 21 points on the night off 7-of-15 shooting from the floor.
The Owls (8-1) responded with a 10-2 spurt to even the score, but LIU Post came right back. Holding a slight 27-26 edge, the green and gold used a 13-2 burst to build a double-digit advantage (40-28) at the 4:58 mark. Torres accounted for seven of the first 10 points. Junior guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) wrapped it up with a three-pointer.
The hosts eventually carried a seven-point cushion (49-42) into the locker room, as SCSU's Michael Mallory (Waterbury, Conn.) drilled a trey as time expired. Mallory led all scorers with 28 points.
In the second half, the Pioneers, sporting a 61-59 lead, went on a 14-3 run in a five-minute stretch to grab their largest advantage of the contest, at 75-62, with 9:06 left. Junior guard
Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.) buried two of his five threes in the spurt, while four other players each netted a bucket, capped by a lay-up from senior forward
Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.).
The Owls put together one last rally though. In the final five-plus minutes, they battled back from an 80-70 deficit, outscoring LIU Post by an 18-2 count to complete the comeback. Senior guard Tylon Smith (Manchester, Conn.) collected 10 points in the burst. Fellow senior guard Luke Houston (Pearl River, N.Y.) added eight points.
Maduegbunam finished with 19 points in the game on 6-of-11 shooting. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists. Senior forward
Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) amassed 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward
Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) had 11 points, five boards and three blocks in 22 minutes off the bench. Hall chipped in five points, five rebounds and four blocks.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and the Pioneers return to the hardwood Saturday (Dec. 13) at East Coast Conference opponent UDC in Washington, D.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.