WATERBURY, Conn. – Graduate forward Harrison Warnock reached double-digit scoring for the fourth consecutive game, leading Post University Men's Basketball and all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, but the Eagles were unable to come back from their early hole against nationally-ranked Daemen University in the Drubner Center on Saturday afternoon, falling 78-59, and dropping to 4-2 on the season. 

THE BASICS

Post University 78, #20/#13 Daemen University 59

Post University (4-2)

#20/#13 Daemen University (4-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In a game that featured just two ties and three lead changes, like their game against the College of Staten Island, all of those situations would occur within the first few minutes of the game. Graduate guard Tyler Small kicked off the scoring with his jumper which was matched by graduate guard Matt Becker to tie it at 2-2 after an over two-minute scoring drought to start the affair. Becker's layup at the 15:39 mark gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 6-4, and trailing 10-7, the Eagles would embark on a 4-0 run from senior guard Robert Sanders and senior forward Deng Deang to take what would be their last lead of the game, 11-10, with 11:54 remaining in the first half. 

From there, Daemen went on a 6-0 run featuring four points from sophomore guard Ryan Heath to take a five-point advantage, 16-11, and never look back. The lead for the Wildcats would only dwindle to as few as three points after sophomore guard Ta'Quan Williams ended the 6-0 run with a jumper, before nine straight points by three different scorers pushed the lead back to 12 points, 25-13, for Daemen with just over five minutes remaining. As time expired to end the first half, senior guard Bol Akot nailed a buzzer-beating three to cut into the deficit a little as the Eagles went into the break down by 13 points, 39-26. 

With 15:26 left in the second half, the lead for the Wildcats would balloon up to a game-high 19 points following a three from senior forward Justin Hemphill before Post looked to make a run and get themselves back into the contest. Three points from Warnock followed by a three from graduate forward Derrick Thomas II spurred a 6-0 run that cut the Daemen lead back down to 13 points and in the latter portions of the half, the Eagles would get the deficit down to as few as eight points.

Using another 6-0 run while down 16 points with a pair of jumpers from Warnock and a bucket from Williams made it a 10-point game with 9:57 to go and two threes from Thomas II would answer back to each Daemen basket to keep the margin in the same spot. But two fouls from beyond the three-point line committed by the Wildcats gave the Eagles some momentum with Warnock and Akot combining to hit all but one of them to bring Post within eight, 64-56. 

But long-range shooting from Becker, graduate guard Andrew Mason, and sophomore guard Jackson Kulik to the tune of four combined threes and a jumper from junior guard Justin Glover highlighted a game-ending 14-0 run for Daemen which was broken up by a Warnock three just before the buzzer sounded on a 78-59 defeat for the Eagles. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Harrison Warnock led all scorers in today's game with 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting with two three-pointers made and five free throws 
• For the first time this season, Deng Deang scored less than 10-plus points in a game, finishing with four points on 2-of-5 shooting with eight rebounds and a missed free throw
• Post University remains 3-0 when leading at halftime while moving to 1-2 when trailing at halftime this season 
• Against nationally ranked teams, Post University is now 0-2 this season with losses to St. Thomas Aquinas College and Daemen University 
• This was the first meeting between Post University and Daemen University in program history at the Drubner Center 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University hits the road before Thanksgiving Break to play Queens College (N.Y.)  on Tuesday night at 6:00 PM in Flushing, New York. This will be the first matchup between the two programs since the 2012-13 season and the first on the Knights' home court. The Eagles are 4-0 all-time against Queens since their first meeting during the 2008-09 season.