SPARKILL, N.Y. -- The formula for Post University Men's Basketball through the first five games of the season has been one of balance. On any given night, Head Coach Marc Kuntz has seen a breakout performance from one of his players and there is no telling who it could be leading the charge for the Eagles on the way to victory. Less than 24 hours after junior point guard Bol Akot's record-breaking 41-point performance against St. Thomas Aquinas, Akot would only score eight points on Sunday.

But junior point guard Robert Sanders' 18 points and junior forward Deng Deang's 16 points helped lead the charge for Post who is now 5-0 to start the season, their best start in program history, with an 83-64 victory over Mercy University in the St. Thomas Aquinas Classic. 

THE BASICS

Post University 83, Mercy University 64 

Post University (5-0)

Mercy University (0-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a tale of two halves in terms of who would lead the charge for an Eagles team that took a 4-0 lead off a jumper from junior forward Kyle Alcy and then a dunk from Deang, setting the tone for the remainder of the afternoon. Post would never trail in the game nor see the score get tied up for 38:52 following the opening tip as Mercy would get within one point on two occasions in the first half, but never pull even or take the lead throughout. 

The dunk for Deang in the opening half would be the first of 13 first-half points for the junior who is in his first season with the Eagles, going 6-for-10 from the floor, 1-for-3 from three, and grabbing two rebounds. Sanders, who led the team in scoring, would not be far off either from Deang, scoring eight points while hitting two threes and two free throws. Unlike the high-scoring half from Saturday, turnovers would bog down both teams with the Eagles committing 13 turnovers to the Mavericks' 12 turnovers. That would lead to a 34-25 halftime score in favor of Post, who shot 41.4% from the field and hit 5-of-17 three-point attempts. 

Both teams would clean up their sloppy ball handling from the first half, recovering to commit a combined 12 turnovers in a half that saw Mercy hover around for a bit of time, trailing only by nine points with 9:00 left, 60-51, before the Eagles would pull away. A 6-0 run courtesy of four points from freshman point guard Ta'Quan Williams stretched the Post lead up to 15 points and only grow from there to as many as 23 points after a Williams' jumper with 2:39 remaining, 81-58. Both sides would combine for six total points over that final 2:39 of play with the Eagles getting their largest win of the season so far by 19 points, 83-64. 

Junior shooting guard Rico Powell would see his first action of the season for Post in the final minute, hitting a pair of free throws with six seconds left, the first points of his career as an Eagle. Powell was one of the 12 Post players to hit the floor for the team today. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
 

• Robert Sanders finished with 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting and an impressive 5-for-8 performance from three-point range
• Deng Deang recorded double-digit points for the fifth straight game to start the year with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting in just 24 minutes
• Rebounding would come at a premium for both teams as Post finished with a slight 36-34 advantage with only two players recording five-plus rebounds in Deng Deang (Five rebounds) and junior forward Edward Trahan (Five rebounds)
• Post University is 5-0 to start the year for first time in program history

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will get the Thanksgiving week off before returning to action on Sunday afternoon at the Drubner Center against Southern New Hampshire University at 3:30 PM. Although 1-9 against the Penmen in the all-time series, the Eagles did win their matchup last season against them on the road, 71-61 in December, after dropping a neutral site game against them a month prior, 62-61.