Game Center:

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – 7 p.m. Post at Bridgeport Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium – Bridgeport, Conn. Bridgeport Coverage: Live Stats | Video

 
After it opened the home portion of its schedule with back-to-back wins over Concordia and Queens last week, the Post University men's basketball team will return to the road as it travels to Bridgeport for a matchup with an in-state rival on Wednesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Currently the Eagles are on the second longest winning streak in program history, a five-game stretch.
 
On Wednesday night, Post will wrap up its most successful November in the program's NCAA Division II history. With a win, the Eagles would be 6-1 to start the season. The previous record for wins in the month of November is three, which came to open the 2006-07 season. Even with a loss, a 5-2 record would mark the best start in Division II history for Post.
 
Game Notes:
Last Time Out: Post 83, Queens 67 – Recap | Box Score
Behind the strength of a 7-0 run over a span of 46 seconds in the second half, the Post University men's basketball team pulled away from visiting Queens College in an 83-67 non-conference victory for the Eagles. For the third time this season, junior Jerry Cummings led Post in scoring. He netted 17 points and classmates Zach Krischer and Stephen Perry chipped in 16 and 15 points, respectively.
 
Cummings shot 6-for-11 from the field and 5-for-8 at the foul line. He added four rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists. Krischer shot 4-for-7 from distance and 6-for-10 from the field and Perry went 5-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-6 from three-point range.
 
CACC Player Of The Week:
Junior guard Stephen Perry was named the CACC men's basketball player of the week on Tuesday. In a pair of Post home wins, Perry shot 10-for-15 from three-point range and 11-for-18 from the field as Post collected home wins over Concordia and Queens last week. He netted 22 points in the team's second straight CACC win, an 87-70 decision over Concordia, to open the season, including six triples made. Perry rounded out the week with a 5-for-7 performance from the floor as he scored 15 points against Queens in an 83-67 win. For the week, he shot a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line and averaged 18.5 points per game in the victories.
 
Five Straight Wins:
Since a season-opening loss to Molloy on the road, Post has won its last five contests by an average of 14.8 points per game. The winning streak is the longest under head coach Al Sokaitis and the Eagles largest since they recorded eight straight victories from Jan. 9 – 27 during the 2006-07 season. The eight-game win streak is the longest in the program's NCAA Division II history.
 
Finding His Shot:
After he scored just 22 points in his first three games, Stephen Perry has exploded for 58 points over his last three games. During the stretch, he is shooting 15-for-23 (65.2 percent) from three-point range. Against LIU Post he went 5-for-8 from distance en route to a game-high 21 points. He made six triples in the home opener against Concordia as he shared the team lead in points with 22. Most recently, he hit four triples in six attempts against Queens. For the season he is 17-for-31 from distance.
 
First Career Double-Double:
Cummings tallied his first career double-double in Post's 79-78 overtime victory behind 23 points and 10 rebounds. In his first two contests this season, he pulled down 10 boards in each game. For his efforts last week, Cummings was given a CACC Honorable Mention.
 
All-Time Series With Bridgeport:
The 10^th meeting between the two teams since 2004, Post sits at 3-6 against Bridgeport in the all-time series. The Eagles are 2-5 on the road with the last victory coming on Nov. 20, 2009, in an 81-77 decision.
Previous Results:
12/19/11........... H.... W, 79-78
11/22/11........... A..... L, 83-77
1/21/10............. H..... L, 82-76
11/20/09........... A.... W, 81-77
1/2/09............... N..... L, 77-68
12/17/07........... A.... W, 62-58
11/18/06........... A..... L, 70-67
11/20/05........... A..... L, 71-63
11/21/04........... A..... L, 89-83
 
Scouting the Purple Knights:
Bridgeport, selected to finish third in the East Coast Conference (ECC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, stands at 2-4 this season and has dropped its last three contests. The three setbacks have come at the hands of Dominican, Caldwell and Philadelphia. The Purple Knights are 1-3 against the CACC this season and they earned a 72-64 triumph over Bloomfield on Nov. 14. Individually, Darian David leads the team with 17.3 points per game and Ivan Simic chips in 12.7 points and seven rebounds. Omari Howard paces the rebounding efforts with eight boards per game.  
 
The Last Meeting: Dec. 19, 2011 – Post 79, Bridgeport 78
Zach Krischer hit a three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a hard-fought 79-78 victory over Bridgeport. Post went into the holiday break at 3-7 overall and 2-1 in CACC play.

The first half was back-and-forth as the lead changed hands five times. The Eagles largest lead came after James Lee stole the ball and was fouled on a fast break layup. He would make both free throws to push the score to 21-16.

The score was tied at 31-31 with 5:36 remaining when Darien David picked off a Jake Wilcox pass. Larry Smith sprinted down the court after him and swatted the layup, which led to an easy bucket for Post. Geraldo Fernandez would hit a three-pointer as time expired to give the Eagles a 40-37 heading into halftime.
 
Sharp Shooter:
Last season, Zach Krischer led the CACC in three-point field goal percentage with a mark of 48.2. In fact his percentage from distance was better than his overall field goal percentage (47.7). Nationally, Krischer sat 82^nd in three-point field goals made per game with an average of 2.39.
 
Internationally Known:
Post men's basketball head coach Al Sokaitis was named the Tanzania national head coach of the men's and women's basketball programs on Aug. 29. The goal is for the country to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
 
Preseason Prognostications:
The Eagles were tabbed to finish third in the North Division of the CACC Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released on Monday, Nov. 12. Post totaled 59 points and one first place vote from the league's 13 head coaches. Sokaitis' team was picked behind Bloomfield and Dominican in the North Division.
 
On The Horizon:
Post will return to the Drubner Center, where it is 2-0 this season, as it takes on Wilmington in a conference tilt on Saturday, Dec. 1. The opening tip is set for 3 p.m.