Box Score

WATERBURY, Conn. (March 1, 2010)—Survive and advance. That's the longtime coaching wisdom that applies to playing in a single-elimination tournament. And that's exactly what the Eagles did Tuesday night at the Drubner Center, defeating Dominican College, 71-68.

Josh Lopez scored a season-high 17 points and dished out 4 assists, and the Eagles survived a last-second three-point attempt by Dominican's Preston Smith to come away with the victory.

Post University (17-10, 15-4 CACC) led 68-62 with 1:49 left before four straight points by the Chargers' Leon Porter closed the gap to 68-66.

That's when the Eagles defense did what it has done all season:  shut the other team down when it matters most.

Geraldo Fernandez drew a charge on 5-8 Chargers guard Khaleev Ginyard, giving the Eagles the ball back with 27 seconds to play.

After a clutch free throw by Cecil Stinson*, Dominican guard Leon Porter drew a foul, and calmly knocked down two free throws, drawing the Chargers to within one at 69-68 with 11 seconds to go.

That's when Stinson came up huge, knocking down two more free throws and giving the Eagles their final margin of three, 71-68.

Leon Porter led Dominican (16-13, 12-7 CACC) with 19 points and 8 assists. Cory Quimby added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Chargers.

James Lee had another impressive performance for the Eagles, adding 11 points and 5 rebounds and hammering down yet another highlight-reel dunk.

Post University led 39-23 at halftime, charging into the locker room on the momentum of an Elon Howard putback throwdown as time expired in the first half. Howard finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds and two blocks.

Seven different players scored at least 7 points for the Eagles.

The Eagles committed just 10 turnovers in the game, the second-lowest team total in a CACC tournament game in league history. The team's eight-game win streak now ties them with the 2006-07 Eagles squad for the most consecutive victories in school history.

“I thought we played exceptionally well in the first half,” said head coach Al Sokaitis.
“[Dominican]played like a team in an elimination round and played with a lot of energy. We made some key rebounds in the second half, took some charges, and made some key plays down the stretch,” he said.

Post University will take on Goldey-Beacom College in the CACC semifinals at 5 pm on Friday in Philadelphia.

The Eagles dropped their only game with the Lightning this season, falling 68-60 in Delaware on February 5. It was the Eagles' last loss this season.