WATERBURY, Conn. -- It has been awhile since Post University Men's Basketball has been able to come away with a comfortable victory at home. Winning by 16 points, 79-63, on Saturday over Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference opponent, Georgian Court University at home marked the first time since a 15-point home victory back on November 15th, 2023 against AIC in which the Eagles have been able to say they won inside the Drubner Center by 10-plus points. The win was the second straight for Post who was coming off a two-game losing streak to a pair of conference opponents as they now push their overall record to 14-4 and earn their fifth conference win in seven games. 

THE BASICS

(RV) Post University 79, Georgian Court University 63

(RV) Post University (14-4, 5-2 CACC)

Georgian Court University (2-17, 0-8 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Led by an impressive 50% shooting in the first half (14-for-28) while hitting 2-of-5 threes, the Lions kept things close with the Eagles throughout the first 20 minutes despite falling down early by seven points, 10-3. Senior guard Clint Wright Jr.'s three with 10:13 to go in the half would give Georgian Court their first lead of the game, 15-14, and would be three of Wright Jr's team-leading 22 points on the day. The senior was 8-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-10 from long range in the loss for the Lions who never let Post get ahead by more than four points the rest of the way in the half. 

However despite keeping things close with the Eagles, once senior forward Derrick Thomas II hit a go-ahead three with 7:16 left to make it a 21-19 game, Post would never trail the rest of the way as they went into the half with a 35-31 lead after going 10-for-26 (38.4%) from the floor and 4-for-13 (30.7%) from three. The free throw difference would be huge for Post as well with 11-of-12 free throws made in the first half compared to just 1-of-3 for Georgian Court. 

Out of the gate in the second half, the Eagles would go on a 6-0 run to take their first double-digit lead of the game as junior point guard Bol Akot and junior forward Deng Deang scored all the points on that run with Akot leading the way with four points. The lead ballooned to as many as 25 points with 5:45 remaining in regulation after a jumped from Thomas II and would only dip below 20-plus points in the final two minutes when the Lions ended the game with a 7-0 run which included Wright Jr.'s fourth and final three of the afternoon. 

Deang would be one of three Eagles to finish with double-digit points as he led the team with 23 points while junior point guard Robert Sanders added on 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the victory and Thomas II scored 11 points with six of them coming from the free throw line. On the day from the charity stripe, the Eagles were a season-best 90.5% shooting from there as they made 19-of-21 freebies. All eight scorers for Post each finished with five or more points while 13 players saw action in the 79-63 win. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Deng Deang lead the way with 23 points and nine rebounds while going 8-for-14 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line -- Deang fell a rebound shy of a double-double as he grabbed nine boards in his 25 minutes on the floor 
• Bol Akot's 10-game double-digit point streak came to an end as he finished with nine points on 4-for-10 shooting this afternoon 
• Going 6-for-26 from three-point range, Post University finished with their second-lowest shooting percentage from long range this season at 23.1% -- The 26 attempted threes was the third-most this season by Post who attempted 27 against Mercy University and 31 against Molloy University 
• Post University remains undefeated against Georgian Court in the all-time series as they now possess a 10-0 record against the Lions dating back to the 2013-14 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will get an entire week off before their next game which will come on the road next Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM against Chestnut Hill College down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles have dominated the all-time series, 12-3, while winning the last six games with five of those six wins coming by double-digit margins. Last season, Post took down the Griffins at home, 92-57, but on the road was a different story as the Eagles had to stave off a late comeback by Chestnut Hill for the 75-74 win.