Prior to their game on Wednesday, Mar. 4, two LIU Post men’s basketball players earned East Coast Conference (ECC) recognition. Senior forward Tyuan Williams earned All-ECC second team, while senior guard P.J. Torres was named an Honorable Mention. The duo are the leading scorers and rebounders for the Pioneers this season, and they took their accolades with them when they played host to the fourth seeded Lions from Molloy College in the first round of the ECC Championship.
The Pioneers, who secured a 68-60 win, were led by Torres, who poured in a game-high 18 points, while collecting five rebounds and three steals. Williams recorded his team-leading sixth double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 boards, while sophomore forward Greg Dotson was a spark off the bench with 13 points and three rejections.
Looking forward to their next game, the Pioneers welcomed the top-seeded Spartans from St. Thomas Aquinas College to the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville on Saturday, Mar. 7. The game came down to the wire, and the clock ultimately struck midnight on the Pioneer upset attempt as they fell short, losing a thriller, 80-78.
The Spartans played well starting from the opening tip, establishing an eight point lead with just over 10 minutes played in the first half, but started to slip when Dotson converted on a three-point play to trim the Spartan lead to just five at 18-13. Key baskets from senior forward Charles McCann and Isiah Stokley help the Pioneers battle back and take a four-point lead into the locker room. At the half, the Pioneers led 41-37.
The battle continued in the second half, and there was no lack of momentum changes. The Spartans evened the score at 54 with just over 10 minutes left in the contest, but that was answered with a 9-0 run by LIU Post. The exclamation point during the run was a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jared Hall, which helped bring the Pioneers to a 63-54 advantage.
The Pioneers eventually built their lead to as much as 10, at 69-59, before the Spartans started their comeback. The Spartans used a 15-5 run to take a slim 78-77 lead in the dwindling seconds of regulation. In those winding seconds, the Pioneers went one of four from the charity stripe and basically buried all hopes of an upset.
The Spartans won by a score of 80-78, and were led by sophomore guard Chaz Watler, who totaled 22 points and was an impressive 12 of 13 from the free-throw line. Freshman guard Shaquille McFarlan also helped out the Spartans, scoring 13 points, grabbing eight boards, and being a pest on the defensive end with five steals.
Dotson was the leading scorer for the Pioneers with 14 points, but four other players totaled double-figures to help in that department. It was a tale of two halves for the Pioneers in terms of shooting percentage. Their impressive first half percentages did not translate into the latter stanza and the Spartans capitalized and earned a big victory.
While the Spartans are headed to the ECC Championship game, head LIU Post men’s basketball coach Erik Smiles, who led the Pioneers to a 17-12 record last season, concluded the 2014-15 campaign at 17-13 overall and 11-9 in conference play.
This article was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished here by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer.
