WATERBURY, Conn. – Senior forward Deng Deang scored 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting for Post University Men's Basketball, leading the way for the Eagles who were unable to keep pace with Saint Anselm College, who shot 55.4% from the field, on Sunday afternoon, dropping their third home game in four tries, 91-74, to the Hawks. 

THE BASICS

Post University 74, Saint Anselm College 91 

Post University (5-3)

Saint Anselm College (5-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Paced by a 48.1% shooting half in which they went 13-for-27 from the floor which included making 7-of-13 threes for a 53.8% shooting clip, the Hawks took a four-point lead, 40-36, into the halftime break despite trailing by 11 points early on. Junior guard Josh Morissette started the game off with a three for Saint Anselm, but an ensuing 18-4 run for the Eagles gave them their largest lead of the half, 18-7. 

Deang scored eight of the first 18 points of the game for Post with the help of four points from senior guard Bol Akot as part of that run before the Hawks answered back to pull within four points, 18-14, after four different Hawks connected on a 7-0 run. Back-to-back threes for junior guard Tre Duncan and graduate forward Derrick Thomas II around a three from senior forward Sean McCarthy as well as a layup from graduate forward Harrison Warnock re-upped the Post lead to nine points, 26-17, before Saint Anselm once again mounted a response on the form of another 7-0 run. 

With a three from freshman guard Gregory Cantwell and back-to-back free throws from junior forward Juju Ramirez, the Hawks took their first lead since it was a 3-0 lead, going ahead 31-30 with 3:32 remaining in the half. After that hot start, the Eagles closed the opening half shooting 37.5% from the floor after going 15-for-40 overall and 6-for-20 from three-point land (30%).

The hot shooting for the Hawks would continue into the second half while the shooting struggles continued for Post as Saint Anselm shot an impressive 62% from the floor, making 18-of-29 field goals overall while shooting 40% from three with 4-of-10 shots made. While it was an improved half overall for the Eagles who shot 16-for-36 (44.4%), the long-range shooting would only result in two threes on 13 attempts which led to an 8-for-33 afternoon from three-point land in the loss. 

Trailing by four in the second half, a 7-0 run started by Deang's three gave Post their first and only lead of the half, 49-46, before Morissette hit a game-tying three to spur an 11-0 run for the Hawks who took the lead and never looked back. Saint Anselm's lead would grow to as many as 23 points with 7:17 left in regulation, 80-57, while never shrinking below 15 points after the midway point of the half. Ramirez led the way for Saint Anselm with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting as one of three Hawks in double figures while Akot was the only other Eagle in double figures with 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting in the 91-74 loss.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The 32-point performance for Deng Deang was two shy of the senior's career high in scoring – Deang had 34 points on 14-of-26 shooting while making 4-of-6 threes on the road against Chestnut Hill College on February 3rd last season 
• Juju Ramirez led Saint Anselm College with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting -- Erik Oliver-Bush and Sean McCarthy also finished in double digits with 18 points and 16 points respectively 
• Post University remains 4-0 when leading at halftime this season while moving to 1-3 when trailing at halftime this season 
• The loss for Post University snaps their four-game winning streak against Saint Anselm College dating back to the 2019-20 season – The Eagles fall to 4-12 all-time against the Hawks since the 2004-05 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University kicks off conference play on Tuesday evening on the road against Dominican (N.Y.) with a 7:30 PM tip-off time from Orangeburg, New York. The Eagles split their two games against the Chargers last season, winning at home by two points, 79-77, before falling 91-83 on the road two months later. In the all-time series, Post is currently 22-21 against Dominican (N.Y.) while going 3-3 in their last six games against them.