Last-Second Basket Propels NYIT Past Men's Basketball, 80-78
Box Score OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Jan. 19, 2012) – The LIU Post men's basketball team suffered its first loss in over two months and saw its 11-game winning streak snapped at the hands of New York Institute of Technology, as the Bears scored the winning basket with three seconds remaining to hand the Pioneers a 80-78 defeat on Saturday evening at Recreation Hall.
The Pioneers now stand at 11-4 overall and 6-1 in conference action, falling into a tie for first place with the Bears, who are 12-5 on the season and 6-1 in ECC play.
The game was tight from wire to wire, as the Bears took an early lead, up 14-6 with 14:14 on the clock, only to watch the Pioneers charge back with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to one 16-15, with 11:25 to go in the first. The Pioneers grabbed their first lead of the contest with 6:09 left as senior guard
Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) drilled a three-pointer, giving the visitors a 28-26 lead. But NYIT reclaimed the lead with just under three minutes left in the half and held a four-point advantage at the midway point.
The second half was even closer as no more than five points separated the two teams at any point in the half. The lead exchanged hands five times throughout the half, and with 4:02 to plan, the Pioneers had a slim two-point advantage, 69-67. But NYIT scored three straight baskets to take a 73-69 advantage with 4:11 left, and held the lead up until only 11 seconds remained on the clock, as senior guard
Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.) converted a traditional three-point play to tie the score at 78-78. But with only three seconds left, Dominic Scurry laid it in to put the Bears ahead by two, and the Bears blocked the Pioneer inbound pass as the final buzzer sounded.
Junior forward
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) led the Pioneers with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds, while Kohler was solid with a 19-point outing off the bench. Butler added 13 points and six assists, and senior guard
Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) added 11 points despite an off night from the floor.
Scurry led the Bears with 19 points and handed out seven assist, while Kayvon Roberts scored 18 points and
Phil Izevbehai chipped in with 16 points
, Azel Prather Jr. rounded out the scoring with 10 points.
It was a close contest in all facets of the game as NYIT narrowly outshot LIU Post 48.5% to 46.7% and had a +2 rebounding margin (36-34). The Pioneers struggled with turnovers, committing 17, and NYIT took advantage, scoring 21 points off miscues.
The Pioneers look to rebound as they travel to Sparkill, N.Y. for a mid-week matchup with the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday at 730.