WATERBURY, Conn. – In a battle of regionally ranked opponents to kick off Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play, fourth in the region Dominican (N.Y.) paid a visit to the Drubner Center to take on eighth in the region Post University Men's Basketball on Saturday afternoon. After leading by 18 points in the second half, a late Chargers run would threaten the Eagles, but a clutch basket from junior forward Deng Deang with 4.5 seconds left followed by a blocked shot at the buzzer by junior guard Quest Harris helped Post hold on for the 79-77 win.

THE BASICS

Post University 79, Dominican (N.Y.) 77

Post University (6-1, 1-0 CACC)

Dominican (N.Y.) (7-1, 1-1 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A hot start for Dominican (N.Y.) would see them jump out to a 10-2 lead over the Eagles as junior guard Joseph Merrill hit a pair of threes around a pair of shots from graduate guard Joshua Serrano and junior forward Emmanuel Smith. The lead would balloon to 10 points, 15-5, after a layup from sophomore guard Javel Cherry and after a three from freshman point guard Ta'Quan Williams, the Eagles would call timeout to regroup.
 
Eventually, Post would pull within two points with a 7-2 run courtesy of two layups from Deang and a three from junior point guard Robert Sanders, making it a 22-20 game. It would not be until the 6:22 mark of the first half until the Eagles were able to knot up the score at 31 when senior forward Derrick Thomas II hit a deep three which sparked Post to their first lead of the affair on the following play when junior guard Quest Harris made a layup.
 
The two sides would combine for 98 first half points and after a Thomas II put Post ahead by two, 37-35, they would not trail again for the remaining 4:50 of the first half. The Eagle lead would stretch to as many as eight points after Deang hit a pair of free throws and behind a 52.8% field goal percentage in the first half (19-of-36), Post would lead 52-46 heading into the break.

A high octane second half would see Post go up by as many as 18 points with 12:07 left after a Sanders' layup, 70-52, but the pressure of Dominican (N.Y.) would start to find a way to rattle the Eagle offense in the backcourt. A 10-1 run spurred on by a pair of threes from Serrano and Cherry brought the deficit down to single digits, 71-62, with 7:44 remaining in regulation.
 
With under three to go, junior forward Seth Sherif-Brown would hit back-to-back shots for the Chargers, cutting their deficit down to just six points. That would be the start of what would end up being an 11-0 run which saw Dominican (N.Y.) take their first lead of the game since it was 31-28 with 6:52 left in the first half. That lead would come after a pair of free throws from junior guard Jaden Honis with 32 seconds left, 77-76.
 
After turning the ball over, Deang would be the beneficiary of a blocked shot by junior forward Kyle Alcy which led to a foul by Honis and two free throws for the Eagles. Deang would split the two shots, tying the game at 77 but the ball would be rebounded by junior point guard Bol Akot. Akot would feed Deang down low for a layup with 4.5 seconds left to force a Dominican (N.Y.) timeout.
 
On the ensuing inbound, Honis would attempt a game-winning three but was rejected by Quest Harris as Post held on for the 79-77 victory to open conference play.

BY THE NUMBERS

• With another double-digit performance, Deng Deang now has seven consecutive games with double-digit points, scoring 23 points today on 9-of-12 shooting
• Seth Sharif-Brown led Dominican (N.Y.) with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting  
• As a team, Post University shot 46.9% from the floor (30-for-64) compared to 37.5% (27-for-72) for Dominican (N.Y.) – The Chargers would force 24 turnovers compared to just 17 for the Eagles  
• The victory for Post is their first against Dominican (N.Y.) since the 2021-22 season at home, a 75-71 win, after being swept last year by the Chargers in a pair of one possession games  

WHO'S NEXT
Post University heads on the road to take on Assumption University next Sunday at 4:00 PM. The Greyhounds are 4-0 against the Eagles in the all-time series with their last matchup coming during the 2022-23 season in which they defeated Post, 83-77, in the Drubner Center.