WILMINGTON, Del. – When games have come down to the wire this season, it has usually ended up being to the advantage of Post University Men's Basketball, and on Saturday afternoon against Goldey-Beacom College, that was one of those instances. Entering the day on the outside looking in, a win would go a long way for the Eagles in a tight North Division race that featured four teams with five losses.
 
Pulling away for an 87-77 victory on the road over the Lightning, Post kept pace with Felician who was out of action, Caldwell who won, and then jumped Dominican (N.Y.) who fell to Wilmington on Saturday to move back into playoff positioning in fourth place. Since Bloomfield won as well on Saturday, it sets up three five-loss teams within a game of the Bears as the teams wind down the stretch.

THE BASICS

Post University 87, Goldey-Beacom College 77

Post University (16-7, 7-5 CACC)

Goldey-Beacom College (14-11, 9-4 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither side could really get anything going in the first half that would allow them to pull away from the opposition as the Eagles got out to a quick 4-0 lead and led by as many as five points through the first seven minutes, 11-6, before the Lightning answered back with a 10-2 run that saw them take their first lead of the game with 9:52 left in the opening 20 minutes. Flipping back in favor of Post, five straight points from freshman point guard Ta'Quan Williams during a mini 7-0 run for the Eagles helped them take a six-point lead, 24-18, before once again the Lightning responded to take the lead back, 25-24.
 
Freshman guard Zakari McQueen ended the half by recording five points on an 8-0 run for Goldey-Beacom that saw them leap ahead by four, 33-29, heading into the halftime break. As a team, it was the Lightning holding the shooting edge after going 12-for-24 (50%) from the field with four three-pointers compared to the Eagles who were 11-of-31 (35.5%) with three three-pointers made. Junior point guard Bol Akot and Williams both had eight points each for Post while senior guard Nazim Derry had a team-high 11 points for the Lightning.
 
While the second half of games has been a struggle for the Eagles as of late, this one would be a different story. Trailing by six, back-to-back triples from graduate forward Harrison Warnock and junior forward Deng Deang knotted the game up at 35 all before a brief 4-0 run by the Lightning put them back in front. Each side would continue to exchange blow for blow through the final 20 minutes of the affair with the score being tied six times and there being a total of seven lead changes along the way.
 
But when Williams knocked down a three with 6:21 left in the half to give Post a 65-62 lead, that would be all the Eagles needed to get things moving in their direction the rest of the way. On the ensuing possession with their lead down to one, Warnock's three-point play followed by a layup and three from Williams essentially put the dagger in the game with 3:10 to go and Post ahead by nine, 73-64.
The lead would peak at 11 points twice in the final two minutes and although Goldey-Beacom would threaten with a few three-point shots in the final minute, four made free throws for the Eagles gave them enough of a cushion to end the two-game road trip with a scrappy 87-77 victory against the Lightning.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Ta'Quan Williams continues to elevate his game over the last couple of weeks, finishing again with the team-high and game-high for points with a career-best 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting – Williams also made a career-high seven free throws as well as four three-pointers and has now reached double-digit scoring totals in four straight games
• In all, five Post University players finished in double digits in Robert Sanders (10 points), Harrison Warnock (13 points), Deng Deang (15 points), Bol Akot (19 points), and Ta'Quan Williams (21 points)
• With the win today, Post University is now 6-5 in games that they trail at halftime this season
• Post University has now won four consecutive games against Goldey-Beacom College dating back to the 2019-20 season after losing their previous five matchups in the head-to-head series

WHO'S NEXT
Post University returns home for a matchup against Holy Family University slated for Thursday night at 7:00 PM inside the Drubner Center. The game is being made up after it was rescheduled from January 6^th due to a snowstorm. The Eagles have won their last six games against the Tigers and are 11-1 all-time at home in the all-time series.