BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Dec. 9, 2015) - Junior guard Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) put up his third-straight 20-plus point game Wednesday to lead the LIU Post men's basketball team to a 62-54 win versus University of Bridgeport in an East Coast Conference showdown at the Pratt Recreation Center.

It is the first win for the Pioneers (6-2, 2-0 ECC) over the Purple Knights (1-5, 0-1 ECC) since Dec. 1, 2012. It is also Head Coach Erik Smiles' first career victory against his alma mater.

Trailing 39-33 more than four minutes into the latter period, LIU Post, which came from behind in the second half for the second-straight game, reeled off a 17-5 streak over a near seven-minute stretch to take a 50-44 lead at the 8:51 mark.

Hall accounted for seven of the run's first nine points, including a trifecta to spark it. Junior forwards Barrington Alston (Wilmington, Del.) and Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) capped it off with back-to-back dunks. Senior guard Chris Orozco (Tenafly, N.J.) added a three-ball from the corner.

Bridgeport then tied the game up at 50-all from the foul line, scoring six unanswered points off free throws, before the green and gold responded with an 8-1 spurt to put the game away for good. Senior guard Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked down a go-ahead trey to open the run. Hall and Dotson followed with consecutive lay-ups. Alston wrapped it up with a 1-for-2 trip to the stripe.

The Pioneers overwhelmed their opposition on defense in the second half, limiting the Purple Knights to just three field goals in 20 minutes. LIU Post held UB without a two- or three-point basket in the final 12:16.

In the opening session, LIU Post trailed by double digits (31-21) in the last two-plus minutes, until the hosts closed out the half on a 7-1 burst to trim the deficit to 32-28 at the intermission. Burns made it a two-possession game, after burying the first of his two three-pointers on the night.

Hall finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. He grabbed five rebounds and allocated three assists, as well. Dotson notched a double-double, registering 14 boards and 10 points. Burns collected eight points, five assists, three rebounds and one steal. Orozco pitched in eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Alston had seven points, seven boards and two steals. Senior guard Devon McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) crashed the glass for eight rebounds, along with four points, four steals and two assists.

Smiles and the Pioneers return to the hardwood on Saturday (Dec. 12), when they host Dowling College in an ECC battle at the Pratt Recreation Center at 3:30 p.m.