Men's Basketball Staves Off Molloy on Senior Night, 64-58

2/26/2014 11:12:00 PM

Box Score

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 26, 2014) - On Wednesday, the LIU Post men's basketball team wrapped up the home portion of its 2014 regular-season slate with a 64-58 win versus Molloy at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y.

Leadling 12-11 nearly halfway through the opening stanza, the Pioneers (17-10, 12-7 ECC) rolled off a 12-4 spurt over a span of 4:40 to grab hold of a 24-15 cushion at the 6:06 mark. Sophomore guards Chris Orozco (Tenafly, N.J.) and Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) bookended the run with threes, the only ones of the night for the hosts.

LIU Post would eventually lead by as many as 12 points (31-19), via a jay by Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.). It carried a comfortable 33-23 advantage into the intermission.

Molloy (15-12, 12-7 ECC) stormed out of the gate in the latter period, rattling off a 12-2 streak from the start to go up 35-33 just over four minutes in. Senior center Tyler Hammett (Clifton Park, N.J.) and freshman guard Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) opened and closed the burst with dunks, respectively.

Senior forward Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) came back with a quick response for LIU Post, netting a jay from the left elbow, to even the score at 35-all. From there, the two squads exchanged five leads, before the green and gold pulled away.

Down 46-41 at the midway point, the Pioneers went on a 15-3 run in an eight-minute stretch to move back in front (56-49) with 2:12 left. Junior guard Isiah Stokley (Queens, N.Y.) paced all Pioneer scorers with six points in the spurt. Junior forward Charles McCann (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) knocked down a jay to spark the comeback.

That proved to be all the hosts needed, as a 5-of-8 performance down the stretch from the stripe sealed the victory.

Junior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led LIU Post offensively, scoring 13 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished three assists. Burns and Allen, who was honored before the contest as part of the Senior Night festivities, poured in 11 points apiece. Allen chipped in nine boards and three steals as well. Williams amassed 11 rebounds and eight points. McCann totaled eight boards and six points, while Stokley had eight points and six rebounds.

Head Coach Erik Smiles and the Pioneers now round out the 2013-14 regular season Saturday (Mar. 1) at Queens. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.