Brookville, N.Y. - On Wednesday evening, the fourth-seeded LIU Post men's basketball team defeated fifth-seeded Molloy, 68-60, in East Coast Conference Championship first-round action at the Pratt Recreation Center.
The victory advances the Pioneers to a semifinal round match-up versus top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas at the Pratt on Saturday (Mar. 7) at 5 p.m. Both squads held serve at home in their regular-season meetings. The green and gold knocked off the Spartans, 71-57, at the Pratt Recreation Center on Jan. 10, before succumbing to them, 77-69, at Aquinas Hall over a month later (Feb. 14).
Senior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) poured in a game-high 18 points in the win. He also collected five rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) recorded his team-leading sixth double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds). Sophomore forward Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) provided 13 points and three blocks in 18 minutes off the bench.
Down by as many as seven points (22-15) with seven-and-a-half minutes to go in the opening stanza, LIU Post (17-12) went on a 7-0 spurt in a three-minute stint to even the score at 22-all. Williams got things going with a jay. Dotson followed with a free throw and a fast-break lay-up. Torres tied the game on a pair of free throws at the 4:23 mark.
The Pioneers and Lions (16-13) traded two more tied scores in the half, before a 35-foot heave at the buzzer by Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) put Molloy ahead by two (37-35) at the break.
More than five minutes into the latter session, the green and gold trailed by four (43-39), until a 12-1 run in a span of 3:37 put LIU Post in front, 51-44, with 11:03 remaining. Torres had a tip-in off his own miss, which gave the Pioneers the lead. Dotson, Williams and junior guard Chris Orozco (Tenafly, N.J.) chipped in lay-ups of their own to widen the hosts' advantage.
Senior guard Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.) would score the next five points to close the gap to a one-possession contest (51-49), but a 10-0 response by LIU Post sealed the win. An Isiah Stokley (Queens, N.Y.) trey from the corner with 4:47 left widened the Pioneers' cushion to their largest of the game (61-49).
The winner of Saturday's semifinal between LIU Post and STAC will meet the victor of the 7:30 p.m. semifinal between No. 2 seed Bridgeport and sixth-seeded Dowling for the 2014-15 ECC title on Sunday (Mar. 8).
Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.
