Men's Basketball Drops Regular-Season Finale at Queens, 51-46
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Mar. 1, 2014) - Looking for revenge after a heartbreaking overtime defeat on Jan. 25, the LIU Post men's basketball lost a tight 61-56 decision to Queens Saturday in its 2013-14 regular-season finale at Fitzgerald Gymnasium in Flushing, N.Y.
The Pioneers (17-11, 12-8 ECC) shot a mere 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the floor, which included a 10.0 percent mark (2-of-20) from deep. Junior forward
Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) was the lone LIU Post player in double figures, as he scored 18 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
Trailing 5-4 nearly seven minutes into the game, the Knights (8-17, 8-11 ECC) went on a quick 8-0 run in just about two minutes to grab a 12-5 lead at the 11:15 mark. Senior guards Jeremiah Mordi (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and Patrick Parker (Queens, N.Y.) bookended the run with threes.
From there, the two squads traded short spurts for the remainder of the half. Queens would bring a slight 28-27 cushion into halftime. Over the final 10:30 of the session, the hosts, though the Pioneers managed to close the gap to a single point on several occasions, never led by more than two possessions.
During the latter stanza, a
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) only 43 seconds in sparked the scoring, and put the visitors back into the driver's seat for the first time since early in the first half. However, the swapping of buckets continued, as the second portion of the contest saw six tied scores and lead exchanges.
The Knights finished up strong though. They broke a 46-46 stalemate with 1:38 remaining in regulation, via a pair of Tarif free throws, and never looked back. A Mordi lay-up and a 1-of-2 trip to the line for Parker sealed it.
Meanwhile, LIU Post went 0-for-4 from the floor in the final minute-and-a-half, including a trio of missed three-point attempts.
The Pioneers have now earned the No. 4 seed in the East Coast Conference Championship, and will host fifth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in an opening-round tilt Wednesday (Mar. 5) at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. In the team's two regular-season meetings, LIU Post was victorious in both by respective 92-90 and 64-57 finals on Jan. 18 and Feb. 22.