Men's Basketball Stumbles Against Dowling, 65-61
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 11, 2014) - Junior guard
P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 21 points Saturday, but it was not enough, as the LIU Post men's basketball team lost to East Coast Conference-leading Dowling, 65-61, at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y.
Trailing 19-17 with six-plus minutes remaining in the first half, the Golden Lions used a 16-5 run over a span of 3:44 to grab a 33-24 advantage at the 2:43 mark. Three different players combined to hit four threes, which included a pair from Justin Alexander (Staten Island, N.Y.). Senior guard Corwin Austin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sparked the spurt with a dunk.
The Pioneers answered before the break though. They rolled off a quick 9-2 burst to end the session behind by a basket (35-33). Junior forward
Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) and Torres got things started with back-to-back lay-ups in a 29-second stint. Freshman guard
Jared Hall (South Orange, N.Y.) capped it with a trifecta.
In the latter stanza, a lay-up by
Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) over a minute in opened the scoring, and evened the contest up at 35-all. However, Dowling (13-2, 7-0 ECC) fired back with a 10-2 streak in a four-minute stretch to claim an eight-point cushion (45-37). Sophomore center Evan Maxwell (East Islip, N.Y.) began the run with a lay-up, and closed it with a put-back tip-in off his own shot.
That proved to be all the Golden Lions needed. LIU Post (9-5, 4-2 ECC) did manage to close the gap to a one-possession game on several occasions down the stretch, but Dowling had a response each time. The visitors shot at a 42.9 percent (12-of-28) clip from the field in the second half.
Torres finished with nine rebounds and four assists, in addition to his 21-point efort. Senior forward
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) collected 13 points and six boards. McCann had eight rebounds, six points and two blocks. Hall added eight points, four boards and three assists in 16 minutes off the bench. Williams chipped in six points and five rebounds.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and the Pioneers are back at it Wednesday (Jan. 15), when they round out their seven-game homestand versus ECC foe Mercy at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.