The Pioneer Trail: Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015

2/7/2015 10:31:00 AM

Wrestling vs. Anderson (S.C.) - 12:30 p.m.; vs. Ferrum - 2 p.m.
The LIU Post wrestling team will conclude their North Carolina trip with two dual meets Saturday at the English E. Jones Center. The green and gold will look to record two victories against Anderson (S.C.) and Ferrum to end their Southern swing on a positive note.

The Pioneers raced out to a 12-0 lead in their dual meet with No. 20 UNC-Pembroke on Friday (Feb. 6) before succumbing to the Braves by a final count of 24-15. Sophomore Tyler Walsh (West Islip, N.Y.) and freshman Joe Calderone (Huntington Station, N.Y.) recorded consecutive pinfalls at the 125-lb. and 133-lb. weight classes, respectively. But the Pioneers were unsuccessful in seven of their next eight bouts, as Pembroke grabbed a lead and held on for the victory. At the 141-pound discipline, junior Jesse Meaney (Toms River, N.J.) put up an excellent fight against Daniel Ownsbey (Asheville, N.C.), the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Division II. Ownsbey picked up a 4-0 decision to start the Braves on their road to the triumph. LIU Post picked up their final victory of the dual meet when freshman Ronnie King (Islip, N.Y.) took a 3-2 decision over red-shirt sophomore Mikey Thomas (Burlington, N.C.).

Anderson (S.C.) has lost five straight dual meets, including a 24-15 defeat at the hands of Coker on Wednesday (Feb. 4). Despite a 10-15 overall record in dual meets, junior Zak Hale (Shaftsbury, Vt.) has been a bright spot for the Trojans this year. Hale is currently ranked fourth among all Division II wrestlers at 133 pounds by Intermat Wrestling. Additionally, senior Sean Turner (Monroe, Mich.) is the top-ranked grappler at the 157-lb. weight class in Super Region Two, according to the Basford Coaches' Regional Rankings.

Ferrum will be competing for the first time since finishing just inside the top-10 at the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational, held in Wheaton, Ill. Sophomore Robert Cunningham (York, Pa.) was the runner-up at 125 pounds in that tournament. Cunningham currently holds a 22-4 record in dual bouts this season for the Panthers. In addition, freshman Nick Rodriguez (Clayton, N.J.) placed fourth at 197 pounds, and sophomore Tate Dulany (Great Falls, Va.) finished seventh in the heavyweight bracket.

  Women's Basketball vs. Dowling - 1:30 p.m.
The LIU Post women's basketball team is finding out that conference records do not guarantee easy victories as the ECC playoff picture continues to take shape. With the Pioneers a game out of third place, looking past a Dowling squad that is struggling on paper may not be so wise.

LIU Post (12-8, 8-4 ECC) held as much as a 13-point edge before hanging on to a 71-66 final score over Bridgeport on Wednesday (Feb. 4). Arguably, the biggest play of their victory came at the very end of the first half. With time winding down, red-shirt senior forward Jessica Little (Wyandanch, N.Y.) launched a three-pointer that hit both rim and backboard before falling through the hoop as the buzzer sounded. Little's long-range shot gave the Pioneers a 30-25 lead and proved to be an effective difference-maker as both teams put up 41 points in the second half of action.

Junior center Nyasia Davis (Rahway, N.J.) posted her tenth double-double of the season by scoring 20 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Senior guard Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.) had a game-high 25 points and also registered six assists, four rebounds and three steals in the victory. The Pioneers shot 40% from beyond the three-point line and hit 49% (25-51) of their perimeter shots to overcome a 22-point performance from Bridgeport senior guard Jennifer Kucukkaya (Sodertalje, Sweden) in the victory.

Through 20 games this season, Williams has averaged a conference-best 21.2 points per game. She has eclipsed 20 points in 13 contests, and has led the team in scoring in 13 different games. The Pioneers are one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, holding a plus-5.8 rebounding margin over their opponents. LIU Post is in the middle of the pack in terms of scoring average (67.3 points per game), but the green and gold have struggled to hit their free throws, as they hold the second-worst foul shot percentage (63.6) in the conference. Additionally, LIU Post has been called for a conference-high 20.6 personal fouls per game.

Dowling (4-15, 4-9 ECC) has lost two straight contests, with their most recent loss coming at the hands of NYIT on Wednesday (Feb. 4) by a score of 74-62. Senior guard Christine Verrelle (Abington, Pa.) led the Golden Lions with 17 points, but did so on just 3-for-13 field goal shooting. Verrelle also added eight rebounds and seven assists for Dowling. Freshman forward Jasmine Sapp (Islip, N.Y.) provided a nice spark with a 12-point performance while junior guard Kamille Ejerta (Jamaica, N.Y.) added 16 points and was Dowling's best shooter from long range, hitting four of five three-pointers. Another positive for the Golden Lions was the return of senior guard Nicole Caggiano (Holtsville, N.Y.) who had missed the previous four games. Caggiano scored four points in 24 minutes in her first game action since Jan. 20.

The Golden Lions have struggled in all facets of the game this season, as evidenced by their placement in the conference rankings. Dowling is last in the ECC in five major categories; points per game (57.1), field goal percentage (35.1%), three-point field goal percentage (27.6%), total rebounds per game (36.9), and rebounding margin (minus-7.6).

The previous meeting between these two squads saw LIU Post come away with an 80-71 victory over Dowling back on Dec. 6 in Oakdale, N.Y. Davis led the way with a 23-point, 12-rebound performance and Williams had 17 points for the Pioneers in the victory. 

Men's Basketball vs. Dowling - 3:30 p.m.
With eight games left to play in the conference season, the LIU Post men's basketball team finds themselves in a tight race for the final spot in the East Coast Conference playoff picture. The Pioneers will host one of the teams that is just ahead of them in the conference standings today in an important ECC matchup at the Pratt Recreation Center.

LIU Post (10-10, 5-7 ECC) played hard against Bridgeport on Wednesday (Feb. 4) but eventually fell to the Purple Knights by a final score of 63-53. Bridgeport was able to capitalize on 18 Pioneer turnovers, turning them into 20 points to allow them to obtain the victory. For the Pioneers, senior forward Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore forward Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) had a 10-point night off the bench. The green and gold had 45 total rebounds in the contest, but were done in by a 54.5% performance (6-11) from the free-throw stripe.

Williams is the high scorer on the Pioneers, averaging 14.4 points per game and a 50.3% field goal clip. Williams is also knocking down his free throws, hitting 81% of his attempts from the line. Senior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) is averaging 13.1 points per game. The Pioneers are still the best rebounding team in the conference, averaging 42.2 team rebounds per game and holds a plus-6.4 rebounding margin.

Despite a sub-.500 record overall, Dowling (9-11, 7-6 ECC) is tied for third in the conference standings with Molloy, and sits a game and a half ahead of LIU Post in the playoff race. The Golden Lions handed NYIT an 86-85 loss on Wednesday (Feb. 4) to prevent the Bears from climbing up the standings. The win also allowed Dowling to keep pace with Bridgeport and Saint Thomas Aquinas, though those two teams are a full four games clear of third place at the moment.

Senior forward Donte Adams (Amityville, N.Y.) collected a 25-point performance in the win, going 7-of-13 from three-point territory. Sophomore guard Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y.) added 24 points and junior Armand Correa (Bellport, N.Y.) chipped in 11 off the bench. Dowling committed just five turnovers in the victory, which allowed them to withstand a 40-point outing from NYIT's Darian Hooker (Washington, D.C.).

The Golden Lions are averaging 79.4 points per contest, but are doing so in spite of poor shooting from the floor. Dowling is the worst three-point shooting team (29.2%) in the conference and the second-worst foul-shooting team (67.4%) in the ECC. Furthermore, the team is struggling in the rebounding category, holding a minus-six rebounding margin.

When these two squads met back on Dec. 6, Dowling eked out a 62-57 victory, mainly thanks to red-shirt senior guard Darien Davis (Middle Island, N.Y.). Davis scored a game-high 26 points for the Golden Lions in the victory, but he has not suited up for Dowling since Jan. 20. Also in that game, LIU Post outrebounded Dowling 55-42, but the Pioneers shot a woeful 39.3% (11-28) from the free-throw line.

Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field at Ramapo Indoor Select - 5 p.m.
The LIU Post men's and women's indoor track and field teams will head back to the Armory for the Ramapo Indoor Select tournament tonight.

Junior Elizabeth Stirling (Wantagh, N.Y.) highlighted the performances by the green and gold at the Armory Invitational last Sunday (Feb. 1). Stirling placed second in the 3000-meter run, clocking a program-record time of 10:31.69. Additionally, red-shirt sophomore Michael Scott (Fultonville, N.Y.) finished third in the men's 3000-meter run (8:41.37).

Women's Swimming at NYU Invitational - 6 p.m.
One week after dominating the competition in Eastern Pennsylvania, the LIU Post women's swimming team will look to maintain their momentum as they swim at the NYU Invitational tonight.

The Pioneers won 12 events at the East Stroudsburg Invitational last Saturday (Jan. 31) and clocked an NCAA Provisional Qualifying time in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of freshman Laura Bendfeldt (Grosshansdorf, Germany), seniors Johanna Pettersson (Kungalv, Sweden) and Courtney Delehanty (Oceanport, N.J.), and junior Meghan Brazier (West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) clocked a 1:43.14 in the race, which is under the NCAA Tournament standards. Pettersson would win three individual races on the day, while freshman Erika Hultman (Bara, Sweden) would win the 200-yard butterfly discipline (2:15.11).

Brazier was the anchor leg of the green and gold's pool-record team in the 200-yard medley relay. Juniors Seren Jones (Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom) and Joyce Kwok (Middle Village, N.Y.) and senior Carolin Rademacher (Isernhagen, Germany) combined to sport a 1:47.95 time in the race, which broke a record set last year by the Pioneers in the same event.