The Pioneer Trail: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015

1/29/2015 10:38:00 AM

Women's Basketball vs. UDC - 5 p.m.
The last time the LIU Post women's basketball team hosted UDC, it watched its opponents cut down the nets and win the program's first ECC Championship. The Pioneers will look to avenge that bitter taste tonight at the Pratt Recreation Center, with both squads jockeying for position amid a tightly-spaced conference standings.

LIU Post (11-7, 7-3 ECC) dropped its last contest, a 79-67 defeat at the hands of Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday (Jan. 24) in Rochester, N.Y. Senior guard Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) set a new career-high with 31 points in the game on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Williams pulled down eight rebounds and went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line. Junior center Nyasia Davis (Rahway, N.J.) added 18 points and red-shirt senior forward Jessica Little (Wyandanch, N.Y.) chipped in nine. The Pioneers were done in by poor defense, as the Redhawks shot 53.8 percent (28-of-52) from the field in the game, including a three-point clip of 40.0 percent (8-of-20).

Williams is second in the conference with a 21.2 points per game average, putting her just two-tenths of a point behind Madison Rowland of Queens (N.Y.). Davis is averaging 10.1 rebounds per contest, which is tied for second-best in the ECC.

The loss dropped LIU Post into a tie for fourth with the Redhawks, who now own the tiebreaker based on head-to-head meetings. If the playoffs started today, the Pioneers would have to travel back to the Voller Athletic Center for their first-round match-up with Roberts. Both squads are a game out of second-place, which is held by UDC.

The Firebirds (15-3, 8-2 ECC) have won four straight contests coming into this match-up with LIU Post. Their most recent win, a 75-63 triumph over Mercy on Saturday (Jan. 24) was the start of a five-game road trip for the team. All five UDC starters had double-digit point totals, led by a team-high 17 from senior forward Denikka Brent (Chesapeake, Va.). Junior forward Tatyana Calhoun (Disputanta, Va.) added 16 and led her teammates with eight rebounds. The Firebirds shot 42.3 percent (30-of-71) from the field and forced their opponents to commit 24 turnovers, while only giving the ball away 13 times throughout the contest.

UDC has won its last three games, despite not having senior point guard Telisha Turner (Wilmington, Del.) on the court. Turner was averaging 13.6 points and a team-best 4.4 assists per game, before being sidelined for the last three contests. Brent's 15.6 scoring average ranks fourth in the ECC and Calhoun's 53.6 percent field-goal clip is the best in the conference.

Men's Basketball vs. UDC - 7:30 p.m.
Ten games into the conference season, the LIU Post men's basketball team is fighting to stay in the postseason hunt. The Pioneers have no margin for error as they face a team that is also clawing its way into the ECC playoff picture.

LIU Post (9-9, 4-6 ECC) bounced back with an 82-69 victory over Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday (Jan. 24) at the Voller Athletic Center. The green and gold shot at a blistering clip from the field (28-of-52, 54%) and from long range (9-of-16, 56%) in the victory. Junior point guard Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a season-high 16 points and senior forward Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) compiled his fourth double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) of the season. The Pioneers were also aided by a 14-point performance from junior swingman Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.), who made four three-pointers in the contest.

The green and gold dominated the glass, outrebounding Roberts Wesleyan 37-27 in the contest. This statistic has held true to form for the Pioneers, as they lead the conference in both team rebounds per game (42.1) and rebounding margin (plus-6.6).

The Pioneers are one of three teams with a 4-6 record in conference, which puts them into a tie for fifth place with NYIT and UDC. The Firebirds hold the tiebreaker over both Boulevard rivals, having beaten both the Pioneers and Bears already this season. LIU Post holds the sixth-place position at this moment, by virtue of their 85-78 overtime victory over NYIT last Tuesday (Jan. 20).

UDC (4-14, 4-6 ECC) narrowly avoided overtime, toppling Mercy by a 74-71 final on Saturday (Jan. 24) in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The Mavericks' Jeremiah Brown missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, which would have sent the game to the extra session. Senior guard Quasim Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior guard Erin Senegal (Lafayette, La.) led the Firebirds with 17 points apiece and freshman Kory Cooley (Silver Spring, Md.) added 16 in the effort. Junior forward Geran Pope (Washington, D.C.) had nine points and 13 rebounds off the bench for the visitors in the victory.

As previously mentioned, UDC holds the tiebreaker over LIU Post, thanks to a 94-91 victory over the Pioneers back on Dec. 13. In that contest, the Firebirds raced out to a 55-40 lead at the half, and won on the heels of Cooley's 26 points. Senior guard Michael Terry (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 23 for UDC in the victory. Three Pioneers had a team-high 14 points in the loss: Maduegbunam, Williams, and senior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.).