GAME CENTER:
Saturday, Dec. 1 – 3 p.m.
Post vs. Wilmington
Drubner Center – Waterbury, Conn.
Coverage: Live Stats |
Winners of six straight games and receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25, the Post University men's basketball team will welcome the Wilmington Wildcats to the Drubner Center for a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. At 6-1, the Eagles sit atop the conference standings with a 2-0 mark in league play.
The Eagles have experienced a five-game turnaround from the same point a season ago. After seven contests last year, Post sat at 1-6 overall. With a victory on Saturday afternoon, the squad would be 3-0 in CACC play for just the third time in the program's NCAA Division II history.
Game Notes:
Last Time Out: Post 82, Bridgeport 71 –
Recap |
Box Score
Led by a career-high 23 points by junior
Devin Willis the Post University men's basketball withstood a 23-0 Bridgeport run en route to an 81-72 victory on Wednesday night in non-conference action at Hubbell Gymnasium. The Eagles led by as many as 23 points in the second half before they were forced to hang on to gain their sixth consecutive victory.
Willis finished the contest perfect from three-point range as he sunk all five of attempts from beyond the arc. He was 4-for-4 at the foul line, shot 7-for-9 from the field and totaled five assists. Juniors
Stephen Perry and
Jerry Cummings added 14 and 13 points respectively. Senior
Jake Wilcox turned in five assists and three steals.
Six Straight Wins:
Since a season-opening loss to Molloy on the road, Post has won its last six contests and is 2-0 at home this year. 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.
Dialing In From Distance:
Over the last five games, the Eagles are shooting 50 percent (63-for-126) from three-point range. During the stretch, Post has not shot less than 43 percent from three-point range. The Eagles went 16-for-25 (64 percent) from beyond the arc in their 86-48 victory at Nyack on Nov. 14.
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.
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 in the first week of the year, Cummings was given a CACC Honorable Mention.
All-Time Series With Wilmington:
Post is 9-4 in the all-time series with Wilmington and the Eagles won the last two head-to-head meetings against the Wildcats. The last time Post and Wilmington met in Waterbury, the hosts took an 80-55 decision at the Drubner Center on Jan. 8, 2011.
Previous Results:
2/18/12............. A.... W, 75-67
1/8/11............... H.... W, 80-55
1/9/10............... A..... L, 78-70
1/17/09............. A.... W, 86-66
2/16/08............. H..... L, 83-80
2/17/07............. H.. W, 100-88
1/11/07............. A.... W, 63-62
2/18/06............. H..... L, 88-85
1/14/06............. A ..W, 94-89 (OT)
2/5/05............... H.... W, 90-64
12/10/04........... A..... L, 80-77
1/31/04............. H.. W, 104-88
1/3/04............... A.. W, 104-96
Scouting the Wildcats:
Wilmington, picked fifth in the CACC South Division, stands at 0-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Most recently the Wildcats lost their CACC opener at the University of the Sciences 78-76 on Wednesday night. For the year, the team is shooting 42 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Herbert Dennis is the Wildcats' leading scorer and nets 11.5 points per game, while James Pee and Brandon Fox add more than 10 points per game apiece. Fox is Wilmington's leading rebounder with 5.7 per night.
The Last Meeting: Feb. 18, 2012 – Post 75, Wilmington 67 – Recap |
Box Score
Powered by a career-high 26 points from
Zach Krischer, Post earned its fourth win in the last five games, with a 75-67 road victory over the Wilmington Wildcats in a CACC contest on Saturday afternoon. The game was played at the Pratt Center.
Krischer shot 7-for-9 from three-point range and 9-for-12 from the field overall.
Jerry Cummings and
Jake Wilcox added 16 and 11 points, respectively. Cummings totaled five rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Wilcox hit all three of his field goal attempts, notched six assists and five rebounds. Classmate
Sarunas Jackson finished one point shy of his second straight double-double. Jackson had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
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 wrap up a two-game homestand on Tuesday, Dec. 4, when it hosts Caldwell in a CACC contest. Game time is set for 8 p.m. at the Drubner Center.
