WATERBURY, Conn. – Senior forward Deng Deang shot 50% for the second straight game, going 8-for-16 from the floor while scoring 23 points for Post University Men's Basketball as the Eagles got back on track at the Drubner Center on Wednesday night against the College of Staten Island with an 86-71 victory to move to 4-1 on the season. 

THE BASICS

Post University 86, College of Staten Island 71

Post University (4-1)

College of Staten Island (2-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED
There would be just three lead changes in the affair which all came in the first two minutes of action as the Dolphins took an early 2-0 lead off a bucket from senior forward Messiah Mallory, then a 4-3 lead with a layup from junior guard JJ Chestnut which followed a three from graduate forward Harrison Warnock to give Post the one-point advantage. But from there on out, the game would be all Post as an 11-0 run in less than two minutes behind three three-pointers from Warnock, who had 12 points in only the first 3:15 of the game gave the Eagles all the momentum and a 10-point edge, 10-4. 

Post's lead would swell to as many as 21 points, 34-13, in the first half after a three from Deang with 9:07 left before the Dolphins cut their deficit down to just 11 points heading into the break, 41-30, after outscoring the Eagles by a 17-7 margin to close out the half. Making the most of their opportunities in that opening half, the Eagles capitalized off eight turnovers from the College of Staten Island to score 14 points compared to just two points off six turnovers with that first Post turnover coming over seven minutes into the game. 

Coming out of the break, the Dolphins continued to chip away at their deficit starting things off with a 8-2 run courtesy of six points from Mallory to make it a five-point game, 43-38, before the Eagles kicked things into gear and pulled away once more. With five points from Deang and a layup from graduate guard Tyler Small, the lead quickly reached double digits again, 50-39, but would not remain that way as College of Staten Island used a quick 4-0 blitz from Chestnut and senior guard Justin Zieris to pull within seven and eventually six points with another 4-0 run just after a Deang three, 53-47, with 11:49 left in regulation.

But that would be the closest the margin would get to as back-to-back threes from Small re-upped the lead to 12 points and would never go lower than eight points the rest of the way while peaking at 17 points on a three from senior guard Robert Sanders just outside of two minutes. In the 86-71 win, Post shot 45.5% from the floor and 50% from three after making 17-of-34 which is the most in a single game for the Eagles since they made 24 threes against Felician University at home on February 25th, 2023. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• So far this season, Deng Deang has scored 10-plus points in all five games while shooting 50% in each of the last two games and is now shooting 45.7% from the floor and 40.7% from three 
• For the second straight game, five players for Post University finished in double figures in Deng Deang (23 points), Tyler Small (18 points), Harrison Warnock (17 points), Bol Akot (12 points), and Robert Sanders (11 points)
• Post University is now 3-0 when leading at halftime while remaining 1-1 when trailing at halftime this season 
• This was the first meeting between Post University and the College of Staten Island in program history 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University closes out their three-game stretch at home against Daemen University who is currently ranked 20th in the NABC National Poll and 13th in the D2CSC National Poll this week. The Eagles are 0-2 all-time against the Wildcats, having lost to them last season on the road, 71-55. This matchup will mark the first time in program history in which the two teams have met in the Drubner Center.