CALDWELL, N.J. – The uncertainty is at an all-time high as the CACC North Division heads into the final weekend of the season. Coming into the day, Post University Men's Basketball still had a chance at the top seed in the CACC Tournament for their division and would clinch a playoff spot with a win. But by the end of their 80-63 defeat at the hands of Caldwell University on the road, the North Division saw essentially nothing get settled as five teams head into Saturday with their playoff hopes alive.

With Felician University's win against Dominican (N.Y.) tonight coupled by the result of tonight's Post game and a win by Bloomfield against Bridgeport, nobody except the Bears have a spot in the CACC Tournament solidified. The outcomes of tonight's games put the Golden Falcons and Chargers each at 9-7 with no games remaining while Caldwell and Post both sit at 9-6 and Bloomfield stands at 10-5.

This Saturday, the Eagles square off against the Purple Knights at home while the Cougars take on the Bears, setting up a scenario in which by the end of the day we could see a four-way tie for the final three spots in the North Division with identical 9-7 records should Bridgeport win on the road and Bloomfield defeats Caldwell. However, for Post, all they need on Saturday would be a win and they are in as Felician already has seven losses.

THE BASICS

Post University 63, Caldwell University 80

Post University (18-8, 9-6 CACC)

Caldwell University (14-13, 9-6 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Leading wire-to-wire in the first half, a 7-0 run led by three different scorers to open the game for the Cougars helped set the tone for the first 20 minutes of action. The rest of the way, the Eagles would only get within two points, 7-5, before being unable to shrink their deficit to less than four while trailing by as many as 14 points, 24-10, with 7:14 left in the half and heading into the half down by 12 points, 36-24.

A major part of the 12-point halftime lead that the Cougars built up was because of their 50% shooting half in which they made 13-of-26 shots and were 5-of-9 from three-point range. After leading the team in the last matchup with 26 points, sophomore guard Darnell Evans played all 20 minutes in the first half and led the team with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and was accompanied by junior forward Derrick Bueno's 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

As for Post, they shot just 32.3% while making 10-of-31 shots from the floor and went 3-for-11 from three. Despite having eight different players record points, graduate forward Harrison Warnock was the team leader with only five points on 2-of-2 shooting with a three-pointer made.

Out of the gate in the second half, the Cougars ballooned their lead up to 19 points with 16:59 remaining following a pair of free throws from Darnell Evans, 44-25. Still trailing by 17, the Eagle offense came to life with an 11-0 run featuring dunks from junior forwards Deng Deang and Kyle Alcy that in the span of less than two minutes made it a seven-point affair, 46-39. The deficit would only get down to as few as five points, 48-43, after two Warnock free throws before Caldwell answered back to cushion their edge.

The big swing in the momentum came at the 10:14 mark with Post only trailing by six when Deang fouled freshman guard Isaiah Philbert on a three-point try. Philibert went on to hit all three free throws and a jumper from sophomore guard Melvin Evans quickly changed the course of the game as the Cougars were ahead by double digits again, 57-46.

From that point on, Caldwell would maintain full control of the contest for the 80-63 win to hand Post their sixth conference loss as the playoff picture continues to be muddy in the North Division. Overall in the game, the Eagles shot just 34.8% (23-for-66) while the Cougars shot 47.9% (23-for-48) and made 33 trips to the free throw line where they made 27 baskets.

BY THE NUMBERS

• For the first time in three games, Bol Akot reached double-digit point totals with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting while going 5-for-7 from the free-throw line and making his only three
• Kyle Alcy has found his groove over the last two games, scoring in double digits for the first time this season in back-to-back games after dropping 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night and going 2-for-6 from the free throw line
• Post University falls to 6-6 this season when trailing at halftime – The Eagles are 12-1 when leading at halftime
• This is the fifth straight loss for Post University against Caldwell overall – The last time the Eagles defeated the Cougars was at home during the 2021-22 season, 88-63, but have not won at Caldwell since 2017-18 in a 70-69 win

WHO'S NEXT
Post University closes the 2023-24 regular season with one final conference matchup against the University of Bridgeport scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM. Earlier this season, the Eagles pulled away late on the road against the Purple Knights for a 61-58 victory which was their second straight victory against them in the all-time series.