Allen Scores 1,000th Point, But UDC Completes Comeback with 83-79 Victory Over Men's Basketball
Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 13, 2013) – In a back-and-forth game that featured nine ties and 17 lead changes, the LIU Post men's basketball could not hold the lead as the University of the District of Columbia completed a late second-half comeback and defeated the Pioneers, 83-79, on Wednesday evening. Junior
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) scored his 1,000th career point in the contest, becoming the 21st Pioneer to score 1,000 points.
The Pioneers bump to 15-7 in the process and 10-4 in the conference standings, while UDC goes to 4-18 and 3-11 in ECC action.
The entire first half was an extremely close affair, as the teams took turns taking the lead, and UDC held the largest advantage of the half with a 21-17 lead at 10:45, but neither team was able to take control as a trey by Quasim Jones with 1:24 left gave UDC a 39-36 lead heading into the halftime break.
The Pioneers grabbed their first lead of the second half when senior guard
Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) drained a three at 15:01 that put the visitors on top 48-47. LIU Post stretched its lead to 59-50 after back-to-back threes by Carberry and freshman
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) and led by as many as 10 (72-62) with 6:59 left in the game.
But a traditional three-point play by Michael Terry spurred the Firebirds to a 16-0 run that tied the contest (the ninth tie of the game) at 74-74 with 3:21 to play, and gave the Firebirds the lead that they would not relinquish. The Pioneers finally snapped their scoreless streak as senior guard
Billy Butler (Floral Park, N.Y.) hit two free throws at 00:37, and senior guard
Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to one (80-79) with 25 seconds left on the clock.
But Terry hit two free throws and Brandon Ennis sank one, and the Pioneers' last two shots of the game were off the mark as they fell by a four-point margin.
Carberry had 16 points to lead the Pioneers, and freshman
Emile Blackman (Dix Hills, N.Y.) was right begin with 14 points, including a 4-5 mark from beyond the arc. Fellow freshman Burns also shot well from long range, as the two combined to go 8-15 from the floor and 7-8 from downtown, and burns handed out a game-high eight assists. Kohler added 11 points in the effort.
Ralph Watts scored 23 points to lead the Firebirds, while Terry added 19 and Jones chipped in with 17.
The Pioneers shot relatively well, with a 46.8% (29-62) mark from the floor and a season high 13 three-pointers, along with a 37-29 advantage on the glass, but 15 turnovers compared to only eight for the Firebirds was a difference-maker.
Head coach Chris Casey and the Pioneers look to rebound from the loss with a trip to Mercy College on Saturday, February 16. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.