Men's Basketball Loses to Mercy at Buzzer, 67-65
Box Score WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Feb. 3, 2016) - On Wednesday night, the LIU Post men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 67-65 decision to Mercy College in an East Coast Conference clash at the Westchester County Center.
The Pioneers (13-8, 8-5 ECC) trailed 64-61 with under 10 seconds remaining in regulation, before back-to-back 2-for-2 trips to the line by junior guard
Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) eventually tied the game at 65-all. However, the Mavericks (8-9, 6-6 ECC) went coast-to-coast on the ensuing possession for the game-winning lay-up as time expired.
In the first half, LIU Post and Mercy were deadlocked at 9-9, until a 13-3 run in 2:10 by the green and gold gave the visitors a 22-12 advantage at the 10:17 mark. Hall and junior guard
Bryant Webb (Parlin, N.J.) knocked down a combined three trifectas to open the burst.
The Mavericks then responded with a 14-4 streak to tie the score at 26-all, and later brought a one-point edge (31-30) into the break.
The Pioneers came out of the gate strong in the second half, opening the period on a 10-0 burst to re-gain the lead (40-31) with 17:18 to go. Senior guards
Chris Orozco (Tenafly, N.J.) accounted for the first five points of the run. Fellow senior guard
Devon McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) capped it off with a three-pointer.
Mercy battled back though, using an 11-2 spurt to knot the contest at 42-all at the near-midway point of the half. The Mavericks later went ahead by as many as six points (61-55) with 1:42 left.
Hall scored a game-high 26 points in the loss. He was 13-of-14 from the free-throw line. McMillan collected 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Junior forward
Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) pulled down 10 rebounds and added eight points, two blocks and two steals. Webb pitched in seven points and four boards in 25 minutes off the bench.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and his LIU Post squad now return home to take on St. Thomas Aquinas College in an ECC tilt on Saturday (Feb. 6) at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.