Balanced Scoring Lifts Men's Basketball Over Merrimack, 101-82
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 4, 2014) - On Saturday, the LIU Post men's basketball team shot a superb 52.7 percent from the floor, en route to beating Merrimack, 101-82, in its 2013-14 non-conference finale at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. The Pioneers also had six players score in double figures.in the win.
Leading 29-28 with six-plus minutes left in the first half, an
Isiah Stokley (Queens, N.Y.) three-point play, and
P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) jay on the fast break, extended LIU Post's (9-3) lead to 34-28 at the 6:16 mark. Soon after, Merrimack (6-6) had closed the gap to five (39-34), until the hosts closed out the stanza on a 9-2 spurt to head into the locker room ahead by double digits (48-36).
Junior forward
Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) sparked the run with a free throw, and capped it off wwith a lay-up just before time expired. Fellow junior forward
Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) and sophomore guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) netted baskets as well.
At the start of the second half, the Warriors' Gelvis Solano (New York, N.Y.), who put on a 38-point showing, turned a Pioneers' turnover into a dunk, which cut the deficit to 48-38. Yet, a quick 7-0 response by the green and gold amped LIU Post's advantage to 55-38 with 18:46 to go. Burns drilled back-to-back jays to start it. Torres wrapped things up with a trey.
Nearly four minutes later, Merrimack continued to trail by a 17-point margin (66-49). Then, a 15-4 streak over a five-minute stretch made it a 70-64 game wih 9:39 remaining. Solano and J.T. Strickland (Laurel, Md.) combined for all of the scoring in the run. Solano poured in eight points, while Strickland had seven.
The Pioneers quickly silenced any chance of a comeback, as a 16-3 answer in 3:54 opened up a 19-point cushion (86-67). It also clinched the hosts' eighth-consecutive win. Freshman guard
Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) paved the way with seven points, which included a statement dunk at the 6:44 mark.
For the game, Torres amassed a team-leading 25 points. He also recorded seven rebounds and three assists. Stokley poured in 15 points. Burns totaled 14 points and six assists. McCann finished with 13 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Hall added a 12-point effort. Sophomore guard
Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.) racked up 10 points and three steals. Senior forward
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) accumulated 10 rebounds, eight points and three blocks.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and his LIU Post squad are back at it Wednesday (Jan. 8), when they welcome in Bridgeport for an East Coast Conference clash at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.