Men's Basketball Edged By American International, 85-82
Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Dec. 3, 2016) - On Saturday, the LIU Post men's basketball team suffered a tough 85-82 loss to American International College in non-conference action at Butova Gymnasium.
Tied 26-26 with under five minutes left in the first half, the Yellow Jackets (3-6) reeled off a 14-3 run in a span of 3:21 to open up a 40-29 advantage at the 1:24 mark. Senior forward Rasheed Howard (Woodbridge, N.J.) accounted for seven points in the burst.
The Pioneers (2-6) rallied though in the final seconds of the period. A
Jared Rivers (Westbury, N.Y.) trey and two
Tracy Cleckley (Queens, N.Y.) free throws sliced the deficit to 40-34 at the break.
In the latter half, AIC managed to re-gain its double-digit lead (60-46), but LIU Post chipped away in the dwindling minutes to close the gap to a one-possession game.
Trailing 77-65 late in regulation, the Pioneers drained four three-pointers in the final 4:50 to close the gap to 85-82 with nine seconds remaining. Senior guard
Jemal Mosley (Nanuet, N.Y.) buried a pair of trifectas. Fellow senior guard
Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) and freshman guard
Jared Rivers (Westbury, N.Y.) each knocked down a three.
The Yellow Jackets' Jayvon Pitts-Young (Portland, Maine) then missed a key pair of free throws to give the visitors one final opportunity to tie the game and force overtime.
However, junior guard
Kyle McLeggan's
(Jersey City, N.J.) three-point attempt missed the mark at the buzzer.
Four different players scored in double figures for LIU Post in the loss. Rivers poured in a team- and season-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Mosley totaled 17 points, as well. Senior forward
Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) had 15 points and three rebounds. Hall added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Pioneers shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the field, 44.4 percent (16-of-36) from three-point range and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the foul line in the contest.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and his LIU Post squad are back in action Wednesday (Dec. 7), when they take on St. Thomas Aquinas College in an East Coast Conference tilt at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.