WATERBURY, Conn. – Nothing has come easy thus far in the season for Post University Men's Basketball as the 20^th in the nation Eagles returned from their 11-day winter break to pick up Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Drubner Center. As has been the case in all but a couple of home games this season, it would come down to the wire and junior point guard Robert Sanders would hit a corner three with 22 seconds left followed by a pair of free throws from junior forward Deng Deang to secure the win for the Eagles, 72-69, over the Bears.

THE BASICS

#20/21 Post University 72, Bloomfield College 69

#20/21 Post University (10-1, 2-0 CACC)

Bloomfield College (7-5, 0-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Following a couple of ties at the beginning of the game, a 5-0 run from Sanders and junior point guard Bol Akot gave the Eagles an early 9-4 lead on the Bears. Bloomfield would come back to knot things up at 13 all with a 5-0 run of their own with 13:07 left in the first half and eventually take their first lead of the game on a three from freshman forward Nahum Lewis, 16-15.
 
From there, Post would never relinquish the lead for the rest of the first half, quickly expanding it to 10 points with 6:24 remaining after a jumper from senior forward Derrick Thomas II which was part of a 13-2 stretch for the Eagles that saw them open up an 18-point advantage which would end up being their largest lead of the game, 41-23. Chipping away with an 8-0 run of their own, the lead would drop to 10 points with 1:02 left and Post would end up taking a 43-31 lead into the halftime break.
 
Each side would match each other shooting wise with Bloomfield shooting 13-of-29 from the floor (44.8%) while Post was 18-for-37 (48.6%) with the difference between both teams being a single made three and a free throw.
 
Out of the break, it would be Post on the attack with a quick 4-0 run that was highlighted by a monster dunk from Deang to make it a 16-point game. That would be the largest lead the Eagles would have the rest of the way as Bloomfield blitzed for a stretch that saw them go on a 15-3 run which culminated in a momentous dunk from sophomore forward Kareeme Davis to force a timeout from Head Coach Marc Kuntz with the score now 50-45 with 12:58 left.
 
The Eagles would maintain their slight edge for another three minutes until another big dunk from freshman guard Starrell Harris tied the game up at 54 with 9:57 on the clock. Thomas II would go on to hit a pair of free throws and Akot a layup that stretched Post's lead back to four points, which would only last for a moment. Back-to-back threes from Harris and sophomore forward Marcus Bucknall flipped the game in the Bear's favor for the first time since the first half, 60-58, and they would hold that lead until Deang made a layup with 3:07 remaining to flip it back to a one-point game, 64-63.
 
Four lead changes would occur over the next two minutes or so with each team trading baskets before going silent after sophomore guard Al Fatir Conner's go-ahead jumper until Sanders' big corner three with 22 seconds remaining. Left wide open in the corner on the transition, Sanders would take his time nailing the go-ahead shot and after a steal by Akot, Deang's two free throws with 10 seconds left looked to put the nail in the coffin.
 
A quick run down the court and a basket from junior guard Deavion Ellis cut the lead to two points with five seconds left and less than a second later a four from sophomore guard Zamorian Singleton sent Deang to the line with a chance to ice the game again. Deang would make the front end of the shots, but miss the second to give the Bears a shot at the buzzer but Hearns would step out of bounds and possession would go back to the Eagles who ran out the clock for the 72-69 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Deng Deang has started the season with 11 consecutive games in which he has recorded double-digit points, scoring 23 points today on 9-of-10 shooting – Deang fell just short of his fourth double-double of the season with nine rebounds
• After being swept in last season's head-to-head matchup, Post University snaps a two-game losing streak against Bloomfield College with the win
• At 10-1, Post University is off to their best start in program history, the next closest mark after 11 games was the 2012-13 team which started 8-3 on the year
• This is the fourth time in the last five games in which Post University has won by one possession – The Eagles are 5-0 this season in one possession games

WHO'S NEXT
Post University goes on the road next Wednesday, January 3^rd, 2024 to take on Daemen University in Amherst, New York. As of right now, the Wildcats are ranked eight in the D2CSC East Region Poll. In their lone head-to-head matchup back during the 2014-15 season, the Eagles fell on the road, 88-80.