Men's Basketball Loses to Bridgeport on Buzzer Beater, 89-86

1/8/2014 9:42:00 PM

Box Score

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 8, 2014) - Though managing to rally from a 15-point second-half deficit, the LIU Post men's basketball team dropped an 89-86 heartbreaker to Bridgeport in East Coast Conference action Wednesday at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y.

Senior guard JoJo Swift (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who had 10 of the Purple Knights' (6-6, 4-2 ECC) 12 points in the final 3:57, drilled a three from the top of the key at the buzzer to end the Pioneers' (9-4, 4-1 ECC) eight-game winning streak. Swift finished with a game-high 20 points, alongside eight assists and a pair of steals.

Up 48-45 nearly two minutes into the latter session, UB went on a 12-2 tear in 1:58 to grab a 60-47 lead with 16:24 left. Senior forward Ivan Simic (Belgrade, Serbia) started the run with three straight threes, while junior guard Antoine Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y.) closed it out with a trey of his own.

The visitors would hold as much as a 15-point cushion at the 12:46 mark, before LIU Post came back. The Pioneers, staring at a 68-53 hole, rolled off a 19-5 burst over a near seven-minute stretch to cut the deficit to just a single point (73-72) with 5:31 remaining.

Sophomore guard Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.) opened it with a three-pointer. Junior forward Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) and junior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) followed with converted three-point plays. Senior forward Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and freshman guard Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) wrapped up the streak with back-to-back lay-ups.

From there, the two squads traded buckets, until Hall evened the contest at 84-apiece with a trifecta from the corner. However, Swift's finish from deep sent the Pioneers off with their first ECC loss of 2013-14.

In the first half, a late run by Bridgeport led to the Purple Knights carrying a 48-40 edge into the break. Holding a slight 32-31 edge, an 11-4 spurt in 2:09 made it a 43-35 game. Swift bookended the run with threes.

Williams (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Allen (11 points, 10 rebounds) each notched a double-double in the contest. Torres amassed 16 points and four assists. Maduegbunam poured in 14 points off the bench. He swiped two steals as well. Hall recorded 11 points, four assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore guard Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) added nine points, three assists and two steals.

Head Coach Erik Smiles and his LIU Post team now look to get back on track Saturday (Jan. 11), when they host league-leading Dowling at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.