BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 20, 2014) - For the second-straight game, the LIU Post men's basketball team erased a double-digit first-half deficit. The Pioneers rallied on Tuesday to defeat East Coast Conference rival NYIT, 85-78, in overtime at the Pratt Recreation Center.

It was also the second time in four games that the green and gold needed the extra session to decide the game. LIU Post (8-8, 3-5 ECC) shot a season-best 53.1 percent (34-of-64) from the field in the win.

Trailing 34-23 late in the opening stanza, the Pioneers rounded out the half on a 14-3 run to even the score (37-37) at the intermission. Five different players aided in the streak. Senior forward Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) provided four points, via a lay-up and a jay. Red-shirt freshman guard Aary Bibens (Bennington, Vt.) netted a lay-up of his own with 25 seconds left to tie the contest.

The latter session was a see-saw affair, as the two squads traded eight tied scores and eight lead changes in the 30-minute period. Neither team led by more than five points in the remainder of regulation.

Despite the constant back-and-forth, the hosts had one final opportunity to claim the win in regulation time. After an LIU Post timeout at the nine-second mark, senior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) drove to the basket, but his potential game-winning lay-up rimmed out as time expired, forcing a five-minute overtime.

In the additional session, Torres took the game over, scoring eight of the Pioneers' 11 points in the stanza. A trey by Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.) put the green and gold in front for good.

Torres finished the contest with 18 points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. Williams was the clubhouse leader, however, accumulating a team-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and nine boards. Maduegbunam added an 11-point effort. Senior forward Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) pitched in 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a game-high eight assists, to go along with five points, five boards and a pair of steals.

Head Coach Erik Smiles and his LIU Post squad are back in action Friday (Jan. 23), when they travel up to Amherst for an ECC showdown at Daemen. The opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m.