PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – It was a career day for junior forward Deng Deang as the Minnesota native dropped 34 points for Post University Men's Basketball on Saturday afternoon against Chestnut Hill College on the road, going 14-for-26 overall. But an ice-cold second half of shooting for the Eagles would prove to be too much for them to overcome as the six-game winning streak against the Griffins in the head-to-head matchup was snapped with a 74-66 loss.
THE BASICS
(RV) Post University 66, Chestnut Hill College 74
(RV) Post University (14-5, 5-3 CACC)
Chestnut Hill College (7-15, 6-5 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was Deang versus freshman guard Argel Pettit IV in the first half as both shooters would command the offense for their respective teams en route to the team-lead in points at half. For Deang, he would have 22 first-half points on 9-of-15 shooting overall and a 2-for-4 performance from three as well as the free throw line which put him just two points away from his game and career-high of 24 points heading into the break.
As for Pettit IV, he was also the only player in double figures for his team as he was a blistering 4-for-6 from the floor with a 4-for-5 day from three-point land and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to rack up 16 points. Both sides were shooting lights out in the first half with the difference coming from long-range resulting in the Griffins having the one-point upper hand, 40-39, at halftime. As a team, Post was 16-for-26 overall (61.5%) and 4-for-7 (57.1%) from three while Chestnut Hill was only 13-of-29 (44.8%) but nailed 7-of-13 (53.1%) of their threes.
The Eagles' last lead of the first half came after Deang's fourth straight point for Post made it a 6-5 game before the Griffins regained control by as many as eight points and only saw the score tied up once more through the opening 20 minutes at 11 apiece. After trailing by eight, 38-30, with 2:23 left in the first half, four different Post players would get in on the scoring action to put together a 9-2 run which trimmed the deficit back to one. While both teams limited the turnovers with Post having four and Chestnut Hill having five, the Eagles made the most of those possessions by scoring 10 points to the Griffins' two.
Post would come back down to earth in the second half as they shot just 11-for-37 from the floor (29.7%) and were 3-of-11 (23.2%) from three. Even at the free throw line, the struggles for the Eagles continued as they made just two of their seven attempts across the final 20 minutes. After a first half in which they only had five team fouls, 13 fouls in the second half for Post led to 20 free throws for the Griffins would made the most of their opportunities by cashing in on 17-of-20 chances.
For Chestnut Hill, the second half was about on par with the first when it came to shooting, but the Griffins only took 20 shots from the field which was the same amount of shots they took from the free-throw line. While they only converted on eight shots, one of which was from three-point range, they made up for that with the strong free-throw shooting to maintain their lead.
Both Deang and Pettit IV were held in check during the second half as Deang only had 12 points in 17 minutes while Pettit IV had just nine to finish with a team-high 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting with 5-of-6 threes made and a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the line.
Once the game was tied at 41 with 19:26 remaining, that would be the last time Post would pull even as the cold shooting allowed Chestnut Hill to lead by as many as 13 points and hold off a late blitz attempt by the Eagles for the 74-66 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Deng Deang's 22 points in the first half was the most points scored by a Post University player in a single half this season – Bol Akot had the previous high with 17 first-half points against St. Thomas Aquinas when he finished with 41 points
- Deng Deang had a career-high 34 points while also setting his highest marks in minutes played (35), field goals made (14), field goals attempted (26), three-pointers made (4), and three-pointers taken (6)
- Entering the day, Post University was 9-1 when making at least seven three-pointers in a game with their only other loss coming when they went 8-for-22 against Caldwell University – The Eagles were 7-of-18 from three today
- This is the first time Post University has lost to Chestnut Hill since the 2015-16 season, a 75-73 loss at the Drubner Center on January 6th, 2016 – The last time the Eagles lost on the road to the Griffins was December 8th, 2012 in overtime, 70-66, but this was the first time they lost in regulation on the road to them
WHO'S NEXT
Post University will prepare for a road rematch against Dominican (N.Y.) slated for 7:30 PM on Tuesday night. Earlier this season, the two teams met at the Drubner Center and went down to the wire after the Chargers came back from an 18-point deficit in the second half before Deng Deang's game-winning shot and Quest Harris' block at the buzzer gave Post a 79-77 win.
