Men's Basketball Rallies From 18-Point Deficit to Beat Bloomfield, 92-85
Box Score
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. (Nov. 23, 2013) - Down by as many as 18 points early on in the latter period, the LIU Post men's basketball team, behind a 52.4 percent second-half shooting performance, battled back to defeat Bloomfield, 92-85, on Saturday in Bloomfield, N.J.
Trailing 61-43 only three-plus minutes after the break, the Pioneers (2-3) rolled off a 15-1 spurt over a period of 3:39 to close the gap to four (62-58) with 12:59 left. Junior guard
P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) scored the run's first seven points. Senior forward
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) accounted for the other eight.
The Deacons (1-4) responded though with an 11-1 streak to re-claim their double-digit advantage at 73-59. Sophomore forward Claude Blue (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and freshman John Powell (Ashland, Mass.) wrapped it up with back-to-back three-point plays. Dondre Whitmore (Trenton, N.J.) sparked it with a three-pointer.
Despite that answer by Bloomfield, LIU Post wasn't out of it just yet. Shortly thereafter, the visitors trailed 77-64, until a 16-3 burst tied it up (80-80) at the 3:20 mark. Junior guard
Isiah Stokley (Queens, N.Y.) netted seven of the points. Fellow junior
Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) had the equalizing bucket, via a lay-up.
The contest remained tight down the stretch. A Torres three, however, with 1:34 to go would put the Pioneers ahead for good, and stop a three-game losing streak. Later on, a key three-point play by Stokley, originating on the fast break, silenced any opportunity of a Deacons' comeback.
During the first half, LIU Post led by a seven-point clip (11-4) just 4:06 in. But, Bloomfield took over from there, outscoring the opposition in the latter stages, 24-11, to eventually head into the locker room with a 53-37 advantage.
Torres finished with an outstanding 33-point total, on 11-of-23 shooting. He also dished off 10 assists for a double-double. Williams tallied a double-double as well, totaling 17 points and 11 rebounds. Allen collected 21 points and eight boards. Stokley chipped in eight points off the bench. Sophomore guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) added six assists, five rebounds and three points.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and the Pioneers return to action next Saturday (Nov. 30), as they look to get back to .500 at Post in Waterbury, Conn. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.