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Thursday, Feb. 21 – 5 p.m. Post vs. USciences Drubner Center – Waterbury, Conn. Coverage: Live Stats | Video | Twitter Updates

 
With a berth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament already in hand, the Post University men's basketball team hosts USciences in its regular-season finale on Thursday night. Game time is set for 5 p.m. The Eagles have won three of their last four contests, most recently an 82-50 victory over non-conference foe Washington Adventist on Saturday.
 
Game Notes:
Last Time Out: Post 82, Washington Adventist 50 – Recap | Box Score
The Eagles outscored Washington Adventist 44-19 in the second half on its way to a road victory on Saturday night. Junior Effrin Ellison (Waterbury, Conn.) and sophomore Braxton Gardner (Bridgeport, Conn.) each recorded career-high point totals in the win. Ellison scored 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field and was 4-for-4 from distance. Gardner was 6-of-8 overall and recorded 18 points and six boards.
 
Ellison started scoring early as he hit his third three-pointer of the game at 15:39 to give the Eagles a 13-9 advantage. Todd Harvey kept the Shock close with 18 first-half points, including two free-throws which cut the deficit to 32-28 with 3:00 remaining in the first.
Post quickly took control of the game in the second half with 10-2 run to pull ahead 48-33 with 15:21 remaining. Gardner scored six points during the stretch. Junior Zach Krischer (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) nailed his only shot from distance at 11:22 to give Post a 55-35 advantage. The Eagles ran away with it from there and led by as many as 35 after a layup by junior Jonathan Annan (Staten Island, N.Y.) made it 80-45 with 1:08 left.
 
All-Time Series With USciences:
Since 2003, the Eagles are 10-5 against the Devils. Post has won the last five, including a 63-55 victory on the road last season. The Eagles only home loss to USciences came in 2004.
Previous Results:
12/10/11 ............... A ......... W, 63-55
2/26/11 ................. H.......... W, 50-47
2/27/10 ................. A ......... W, 77-74
12/13/08 ............... A ......... W, 55-48
12/8/07 ................. H.......... W, 55-48
3/2/07 ......... N (CACC) ..... L, 62-55
2/3/07 ................... H.......... W, 72-63
1/6/07 ................... A .......... L, 64-57
2/4/06 ................... A .........  L, 60-57
12/10/05 ............... H.......... W, 71-64
1/29/05 ................. A .........  L, 85-68
12/4/04 ................. H........... L, 85-74
3/5/04 ......... N (CACC) .... W, 92-83
2/7/04 ................... H.......... W, 91-75
1/10/04 ................. A ......... W, 90-83
 
Scouting the Devils:
USciences comes into Thursday with a record of 11-12 overall and 8-7 in CACC action. The Devils have clinched a playoff and will be the third or fourth seed out of the South Division, pending future results. They defeated second-place Bloomfield on Feb. 16, 80-75, for their third consecutive victory. Sophomore forward Garret Kerr has been named CACC Player of the Week five times this season. He leads the nation with 12.0 rebounds per game and is first in the CACC and 17^th in the country averaging 20.8 points per game. The Devils are one of the top shooting teams in the conference and are third in three-point percentage (36.8) and fourth in field-goal percentage (43.9).
 
Knocking Off Nationally-Ranked Teams:
After its 81-65 victory over #25 Dominican on Feb. 6, Post took down a nationally-ranked team for the first time since Dec. 19, 2010. The Eagles topped the Skyhawks 74-68 in Easton, Mass. Post went 1-1 against nationally-ranked teams during the 2009-10 campaign.
 
Game-Winning Shots:
With less than 30 seconds to play in games over the last two years, Post has hit five game-winning shots. Zach Krischer hit the final field goal of the game with 3.2 seconds remaining against Holy Family on Feb. 2, to lift Post over the Tigers 57-55. On Jan. 12, Devin Willis hit the game-winning triple against Caldwell to put the Eagles ahead 58-57. Earlier in the season, Jerry Cummings had a tip-in with 2.1 seconds remaining in overtime against LIU Post on Nov. 17. The final score was 73-72. Last season, Krischer hit three-pointers to give Post wins over Bridgeport (Dec. 19) and Queens (Jan. 2). He hit the shot against Bridgeport with 14 seconds to play, while his triple against Queens came with two seconds remaining.
 
Draining Threes:
For the third time this season, junior Zach Krischer hit seven three-pointers in a game on Feb. 12, at Bloomfield. He also nailed seven triples on Dec. 30, against AIC in a 96-94 double overtime defeat and at Goldey-Beacom on Jan. 26 in a 76-72 victory. Additionally, classmate Stephen Perry drained seven three-point shots against Caldwell on Dec. 4. He was 7-for-13 from distance in the 72-55 victory.
 
Twenty Or More:
In Post's 25 games this season, five different players have eclipsed 20 points 15 times. In Post's 81-65 victory over #25 Dominican, junior Jerry Cummings netted 30 points. Against AIC on Dec. 30, junior Zach Krischer netted 30 points, the highest total to date this season. The last 30-point performance by a Post player was by Trevon Hamlet. He netted 32 points against Bloomfield on Feb. 17, 2010. Below is a list of all the 20-point performances this season.
 
Name – Date – Opponent – Point Total
Jerry Cummings – 2/6 – at Dominican – 30
Zach Krischer – 12/30 – AIC – 30
Jerry Cummings – 12/30 – AIC – 27
Stephen Perry – 12/4 – Caldwell – 27
Zach Krischer – 1/9 – Nyack – 26
Zach Krischer – 1/26 – at Goldey-Beacom – 25
Jerry Cummings – 11/10 – Queens – 23
Devin Willis – 11/28 – at Bridgeport – 23
Jerry Cummings – 11/20 – Concordia – 22
Stephen Perry – 11/20 – Concordia – 22
Stephen Perry – 11/17 – at LIU Post – 21
Zach Krischer – 12/19 – Felician – 21
Jerry Cummings - 12/1 - Wilmington – 20
Jerry Cummings – 11/14 – at Nyack – 20
Zach Krischer – 11/9 – at Molloy – 20
Effrin Ellison – 2/16 – at Washington Adventist – 20
 
Race To 70:
When Post scores at least 70 points it sits at 13-2 this season while it is 2-8 when held below the threshold. In their victories the Eagles average 72.5 points per game. The team has netted a season-high 94 points in its last two contests. Post defeated Felician 94-70 on Dec. 19, and fell to AIC 96-94 in double overtime on Dec. 30. The output was the highest since the Eagles netted 99 points in a double overtime loss against Concordia on Jan. 19, 2011.
 
Among The Nation's Elite:
In the NCAA Division II statistics report released on Feb. 17, Post is ranked in the top 15 in the country in a pair of categories. The Eagles sit sixth in three-point field goals made per game (10.0) and 15^th in turnover margin (4.2).
 
Powered By Individuals:
A pair of Eagles' student-athletes are ranked in the top 50 nationally in five statistical categories. Jake Wilcox leads the conference and is ranked fifth nationally with 6.6 assists per game. He is also 18^th in steals per game with an average of 2.48 and 18^th in assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of 2.55. Zach Krischer is fourth in the nation in three-point field goals made per game with a mark of 3.56 and he is 39^th in three-point field goal percentage. He is shooting 39.9 percent from beyond the arc this year.
 
Eight Straight Wins:
After its season-opening loss to Molloy on the road, Post won eight straight contests, including four at home. The winning streak is the longest under head coach Al Sokaitis and it has matched the longest in the program's NCAA Division II history. The streak was snapped in a 70-66 overtime defeat against CACC foe Chestnut Hill on Saturday, Dec. 8.
 
Career Day In First Collegiate Start:
Freshman Gediminas Juozapavicius made an impact in his first collegiate start against Bloomfield on Jan. 3, as he netted a career-high 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field. He played a season-high 26 minutes against the Deacons.
 
CACC Player Of The Week:
Junior guard Stephen Perry was named the CACC men's basketball player of the week on Tuesday, Nov. 27. 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.
 
Double-Doubles:
This season, Jerry Cummings has notched four double-doubles. He has notched double-digit points and rebounds in each of the last two games. In the Eagles' first win, a 79-78 overtime victory over Queens, Cummings turned in 23 points and 10 rebounds. Against Wilmington on Dec. 1, he netted 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Post's 80-60 win over CACC foe Wilmington. On Jan. 9, he netted 12 points and snatched 10 rebounds as the Eagles swept Nyack for the third straight season. On Jan. 12, he tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Dialed In From Distance:
Over a seven-game span from Nov. 14 – Dec. 4, the Eagles are shooting 48.1 percent (90-for-187) from three-point range. During the stretch, Post did not shot less than 43 percent from three-point range. The Eagles hit a season-high 16 triples and shot 64 percent from beyond the arc in an 86-48 win at Nyack on Nov. 14. As a team, Post has shot greater than 50 percent from distance in three games during the stretch.
 
Suits And Sneakers:
On Saturday, Jan. 26 at Goldey-Beacom, the Post coaching staff participated in Suits and Sneakers in support of Coaches vs. Cancer. It is a nationwide event when coaches across the country unite for a common cause – saving lives from cancer. Coaches and their staff are encouraged to wear sneakers with their game attire while coaching games to raise awareness and promote the American Cancer Society.
 
Coming To A TV Near You:
Post's 94-70 win over Felician on Dec. 19, was taped by CPTV Sports and will continue to air on the network throughout the winter months. Check out http://www.cptvsports.org for channel listings and a broadcast schedule.
 
Receiving Votes:
For three straight weeks, Post received votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25. On Dec. 11, the Eagles garnered four votes and were 28 votes behind #25 Alaska-Anchorage. Post began receiving national consideration on Nov. 27.
Previous Vote Totals:

• Dec. 11 – Four votes
• Dec. 4 – 12 votes
• Nov. 27 – Six votes

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.