BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (February 10, 2011) – The third installment on the season of the “Battle of the Boulevard” will take place this Saturday, February 12. New York Institute of Technology will travel East on Northern Boulevard to take on C.W. Post for a East Coast Conference Match-up. 

 

The C.W. Post women's basketball has been alternating wins and losses for the past couple weeks, with the latest outcome a loss to Dowling on Wednesday night, 60-67. Jane Aiken (St. Albans, N.Y.) paced the Pioneers once again with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds. Nicolette Marciniak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 10 points and six boards to the effort. The downfall to the night for the Pioneers could be seen no further then at the charity stripe, as the squad was only able to convert on 12 of 25 free throw attempts. 

 

Alyssa Lombardi (New Fairfield, Conn.) continues to rank in the top four of rebounding inside the ECC with an 8.4 boards per game average. And despite the loss to Dowling, the Pioneers out rebounded the Golden Lions 51-39 during the game. The Pioneer continues to be the best rebounding team in the ECC with an average rebounding margin of +3.2 on the season. 

 

Despite be outscored by opponents on an average scoring margin of -1.2 points a game on the season as a team, Aiken continues to keep herself among the best scorers in the conference as an individual. The Pioneers will look to turn that around on Saturday with NYIT giving up the third most points in the conference.

 

Even with a 7-14 overall mark and just 5-11 in the ECC, the Bears of NYIT are coming off a win against Queens this past Wednesday, 74-68. With the squad not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, the Bears could look to steal another win against a potential playoff bound team in the Pioneers.

 

Junior wing player Cierra Baker is also making a strong argument for Player of the Year despite not much team success. Baker enters play against C.W. Post averaging a third best 16.8 points a game and the best rebounding average in the conference of 12.1 boards a game. To go along with those top ranked numbers, the junior is also averaging 2.62 assists per game and 2.14 steals a game. 

 

Baker is joined in double-figures in the scoring column as Rebecca Lynch and Alexis Tyson are averaging an identical 11.4 points a game each. Also, freshman Demitra Apergis was recently named ECC Rookie of the Week for a solid week of averaging 9.5 points a game and 5.0 rebounds a game in the two games the Bears played. 

 

So far this season the two squads have split the two games they have face one another. The first match-up on the season came on December 8 in the Pratt Center with C.W. Post coming out victorious, 59-57. Aiken made a clutch steal at the end to seal the victory after Kenyatta Sears (Hampton, Va.) pushed through two clutch free throws with seven seconds left. The steal was one of four for Aiken on the day, as she finished the game with the four steals, 17 points and five assists. Felicia Joyner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) also accumulated four steals to go along with 12 points. Baker put down a game-high 24 points along with 10 rebounds and five assists.

 

The second match-up went to NYIT, as the Bears protected home court with a 62-49 victory over the Pioneers. The game was mostly dominated throughout both halves by NYIT, as the lead grew to as large as 22 inside the first few minutes of the second half. Lynch paced the Bears with 19 points, while Apergis tallied 13. Joyner led the Pioneers with 17, although she only shot 8-23 from the field. 

 

The second match-up will see the Pioneer men's basketball team trying to keep pace at top of the ECC Standings with Bridgeport at a 13-3 conference mark. C.W. Post earn its 13^th conference win, as well as going to 16-7 overall, with a 75-63 victory over Dowling on Wednesday. Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) and Stefan Bonneau (Middletown, N.Y.) each scored 19 points in the victory, with Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.) ripping down 14 rebounds and blocking two shots and Gilbert Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.) dishing out nine assists. Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) rounded out the balanced effort of the starting five by knocking down three shots from beyond the arc to end the game with 12 points. The Pioneers defense held Dowling to a 29.9 percent shooting percentage, compared to the team shooting 45.3 percent itself.

 

C.W. Post continues to rank as one of the best offenses in the region, holding many of the top spots in offensive categories in the conference. Scoring 80.6 points per game as a team, the Pioneers have three players in the top ten scoring as individuals in the conference, with Bonneau leading the team and ECC at 19.0, Hall at 14.2, and Kohler rounding out the top ten at 12.8 points a game. The team is also finding each other well on the court to convert on baskets, as the squad has put together a 16.48 assists per game average, led by Montalvo's 5.96 assist average himself. The team is also knocking down three's at a rapid pace averaging 8.26 three's made per game, with Bonneau taking up 2.73 of that average made. 

 

The Bears of NYIT are coming off a big overtime win versus Queens this past Wednesday, knocking Queens down off a first place level in the ECC. NYIT is now tied for fourth with Molloy at 8-8 in the ECC, and 10-11 overall. 

 

Sophomore Kayvon Roberts is leading the team with a 14.0 points per game average, with senior Jerrel Walker averaging 11.7 points per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field. Junior Jahari McKnight is right behind Bonneau in the ECC rankings with 2.25 threes made per game on a 44.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

 

The Pioneers have taken both match-ups against the Bears this year thus far, with the first victory coming back on December 8 on the campus of C.W. Post, 88-75. Bonneau led the Pioneers in scoring with 24 points, while Kohler contributed 19 points and nine rebounds. The Pioneers were able to use 24 points off of Bear turnovers to secure the victory.

 

Much was the same in the second go around as C.W. Post won 98-72 on the campus of NYIT on January 19. Bonneau once again was the game leader in scoring with 27. Hall put together a double-double effort with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Montalvo dished out 11 assists. The Pioneers were able to out rebound the Bears with a 43-24 margin, including 14 offensive rebounds for C.W. Post.

 

The “Battle of the Boulevard” is set to get underway at the Pratt Center at 1:30 with the women's game, and the men's game to follow at approximately 3:30. If you cannot make it to the Pratt Center, be sure to check out all the action on www.cwpostpioneers.com.