The LIU Post men’s basketball team traveled to Manchester, N.H.,on Saturday, Dec. 20, for an East Coast Conference tilt at Southern N.H. After being under 50 percent for the most part of the afternoon, the Pioneers sharpened their shots in the latter stanza to find the basket 54.2 percent of the time and secure a 71-65 win.
The Pioneers went on a 10-1 run to take the lead at the end of the second half as junior guard Dilion Burns opened the run with a layup. The Penmen went on to try and close the gap, but the Pioneers kept it all the way through. Senior forward Charles McCann and junior guard Chris Orozco secured LIU Post’s first win in a month, with back-to-back lay-ups in the last minutes.
McCann scored 14 points, one more than senior forward Tyuan Williams, who added in 13. McCann grabbed a contest-best 11 rebounds.
While most students have taken the route home for the holidays, head men’s basketball coach Erik Smiles will gather his team again on New Year’s Eve, when they will face Adelphi University in a non-conference match in Garden City. The game is scheduled at 2 p.m.
The LIU Post women’s basketball team visited St. Petersburg, Fla. on Saturday, Dec. 20, and fell short to Eckerd College in a non-conference tilt. The hosts were sharper from start to finish with a 57 percent shot rate from the floor, including 44 percent from the three-point area. The Pioneers shot 26 percent for the contest, and lost 79-49.
Eckerd scored the game’s first six points and never looked back. Eckerd kept increasing the gap between the two teams, with a consecutive 13-0 rally at the start of the second half.
LIU Post’s Nyasia Davis attempted to lift the team, as she led all players with her 19 points and seven rebounds, but her 7-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free throw line was not enough.
Head women’s basketball coach Deirdre Moore and the Pioneers will also return to action on Dec. 31, when they take on Stonehill College in a non-conference battle at LIU Post’s Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville. Tip-off is set for 1.30 p.m.
This story was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished by Blank Slate Media with permission of the Pioneer.
