RUTHERFORD, N.J. –  It was a tale of two halves for Post University Men's Basketball as they looked to remain undefeated in conference play when they took on fellow conference unbeaten Felician University. Outcoming another poor shooting first half and using a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double from junior forward Deng Deang, the Eagles got back in the win column against the Golden Falcons with a 83-69 victory on Tuesday night down in New Jersey.
 
Following the loss last week to Daemen, Post dropped out of the latest NABC National Poll from 18^th but is still receiving votes while falling to 24^th in the D2CSC National Poll and sits 21^st in the CBB Nation Poll which came out today.

THE BASICS

RV/#24/21 Post University 83, Felician University 69

RV/#24/21 Post University (11-2, 3-0 CACC)

Felician University (8-8, 4-1 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Early game shooting woes continued to be an issue for the Eagles who once again struggled to find their rhythm after junior forward Deng Deang hit a three to start the game. Through the first 13:05 of the game, Post shot just 7-of-24 as a team which allowed Felician to open up a lead as large as 11 points and eventually while holding a nine-point lead, 25-16, freshman point guard Ta'Quan Williams hit a three to briefly cut into the deficit. But the Golden Falcons led the opening half nearly wire-to-wire with Post only leading 4-3 with 18:49 remaining before Felician ran away with the rest of the half to lead 37-33 at halftime.
 
Junior guard Cape Holden, who scored his first points since November 19^th against Mercy College with a three to end the half helped get that Eagle deficit down to four, the smallest deficit they had since 10-6. In all, Post finished shooting 11-of-35 (31.4%) but kept themselves in the game courtesy of an 8-for-14 performance from long range. Nine first-half turnovers would result in eight points for the Golden Falcons while Post would be unable to manufacture any points off the five first-half turnovers from Felician.
 
Deang, who saw his 11-game double-digit point streak end against Daemen, had a team-leading 10 points at the break on 3-of-6 shooting which included a perfect 3-for-3 performance from three while senior guard Justin Davis led the way for Felician with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two threes. As a team, the Golden Falcons shot 48.3% from the floor (14-for-29) with a 4-for-10 half from three-point land.
 
From the jump in the second half, the Eagles would turn it on in a big way as they flipped their four-point deficit into an 18-point lead over the first 9:45 of the frame. Senior forward Derrick Thomas II had nine points during that stretch which included six different Post scorers who shot 9-for-11 overall, 5-for-5 from three, and 9-for-9 from the free throw line to take a 65-47 lead after outscoring the Golden Falcons 32-10 in that span.
 
With 6:21 to go, a Williams pull up jumper looked to seal the game for Post who led by their largest margin all night long at 22 points, but Felician would not go down quietly. A 12-0 run spearheaded by nine points from Davis quickly made it just a 10-point Eagle lead, 73-63, with 3:35 left which forced a timeout from Post. Collecting themselves for the home stretch, the Eagles would re-up the lead with a 6-0 run and finish off the 00-00 win.
 
As a team, Post shot 17-for-24 (70.8%) from the floor in the second half and were 5-for-7 from long range to bring their three-point percentage to 61.9% for the game (13-of-21). In addition to Deang's 22 points, Thomas II and Williams each added 16 each and junior guard Bol Akot tallied 10 points as well, ending the game with a dunk. For Felician, Davis' big night would end with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting and a 4-for-8 night from three as he finished as the lone double-digit scorer for the Golden Falcons.

BY THE NUMBERS

• After having his double-digit point streak snapped at 11 games, Deng Deang was back in double figures with a team-leading 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year
• The 16-point performance for Derrick Thomas II was a new career high for the senior whose previous high came during the 2021-22 season when he scored 13 points against AIC
• Moving to 11-2 on the year, Post University continues to have their best start in program history through 13 games with that mark
• With 50 second-half points, this is the third time this season Post University has broken the 50-point mark for a single half and first time they have scored 50-plus points in the second half of a game this season – Their most points in a single half was 52 points in the first half against Dominican (N.Y.)

WHO'S NEXT
Post University starts their two-game homestand with a non-conference matchup against Molloy University on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM at the Drubner Center. The Eagles have lost their last two games against the Lions but also have not played them since the 2019-20 season. In that game, Post fell in overtime, 78-76, but in the one and only home matchup they had against Molloy, they were victorious in the 2007-08 season, 82-71.