COLCHESTER, Vt. -- Survive and advance. That is the name of the game for Post University Men's Basketball the rest of the way if they want their season to continue. In their first-ever NCAA Tournament game since moving up to the Division II level, the Eagles weathered a second-half comeback by #15/#10 St. Thomas Aquinas College, and junior guard Quest Harris hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:34 remaining as Post made key shots down the stretch to beat the two-seeded Spartans in the East Region Quarterfinals, 80-72.

The seven-seeded Eagles now have to face three-seeded Southern New Hampshire University in a rematch from the regular season after the Penmen defeated six-seeded Bloomfield College, 75-70, in the first game of the session. 

THE BASICS

Post University 80, #15/#10 St. Thomas Aquinas College 72 

Post University (21-9)

#15/#10 St. Thomas Aquinas College (25-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing for just under six minutes to start the game, the Eagles would take their first lead of the afternoon on a three-ball from freshman point guard Ta'Quan Williams, 9-8, before a 7-0 run by the Spartans behind threes from sophomore guard Kyle Pulliam and senior forward Luis Risquez to take their largest lead of the game, 15-9. That run would be met by a 6-0 run from the Eagles, led by four points by junior forward Deng Deang, and a jumper from junior point guard Robert Sanders. 

Junior forward Kyle Alcy's pair of layups with under eight minutes to go boosted Post to a four-point lead of their own, 21-17. After scoring grinded to a half for just over two minutes, Sanders and Deang led the Eagles on a 5-0 run that gave Post a seven-point lead, 28-21, with 3:32 left in the half. After sophomore guard James Patterson's three brought the Eagles within two in the closing 30 seconds, Deang's three at the buzzer put Post ahead by five, 35-30, heading into the half. 

The lead for Post came after the Eagles shot 15-of-38 (39.4%) from the floor while hitting just three shots from beyond the three-point line. As for the Spartans, they headed into the break shooting 9-of-32 (28.1%) overall and hit three shots from long range as well.

Starting out the second half, Post would hold a narrow edge for the first three minutes and change until a Patterson layup gave St. Thomas Aquinas the lead by one, 41-40. Deang would go on to hit a three and junior point guard Bol Akot hit his jumper to start a 5-0 stretch for the Eagles that helped them retake the lead by four. 

Once again leading by just one, 45-44, three straight baskets by three different Eagles helped them expand their edge to a comfortable seven-point margin, and by just over halfway through the half, Post took a 12-point lead, 61-49, after threes by Sanders and Deang and another bucket from the junior forward.

But that basket at the 9:22 mark would be the last of the day for Deang, who finished the game with a team-high 31 points. Leading by nine with under six minutes left, a 6-0 run from Patterson alone brought the Spartans back to within a basket, 67-64, and still four minutes to go in regulation. Eventually, four more points from Patterson after a free throw from Pulliam tied the game up at 69 all with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Sophomore guard Rich Smith briefly put St. Thomas Aquinas up by one with his free throw and off a turnover by Patterson, junior guard Quest Harris banked the go-ahead shot that gave the Eagles the lead for good. Harris would make two free throws and another Spartan turnover would lead to Akot's layup with 32 seconds left to put the game on ice. 

Hitting five of the last six free throws for Post, Akot helped ice the game for the Eagles who won their second affair of the season with the Spartans, 80-72, advancing to Sunday's East Region Semifinal game against the Penmen. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Deng Deang recorded his ninth double-double of the season after exploding for 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting with four threes and 10 rebounds -- James Patterson matched him from St. Thomas Aquinas with 31 points on 8-of-22 shooting with 14-of-14 free throws made 
• Post University is now 14-1 this season when leading at halftime
• This is the first-ever win in program history for Post University in the NCAA Tournament -- The Eagles got an at-large bid into the tournament and were making their first-ever appearance in the big dance today 
• After losing their first two matchups in the head-to-head series, Post University has won their last two games against St. Thomas Aquinas College, both of which have come this season

WHO'S NEXT
Post University heads to the East Region Semifinals and will rematch Southern New Hampshire University, who took down Bloomfield College earlier in the day, tomorrow evening at the Ross Sports Center at 5:00 PM. That game earlier this season saw the Penmen pull away in the second half for a narrow 82-76 victory, marking Southern New Hampshire's 10th win in 11 games all-time against the Eagles.