WATERBURY, Conn. – Every time this season when it has looked like Post University Men's Basketball has been down and out of a game, the Eagles have found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Trailing by seven down the stretch, North Division second-seeded Post came from behind with a last-second layup and-one from junior point guard Bol Akot to steal a CACC Quarterfinals victory away from South Division three-seed Wilmington University, 79-77, in the Drubner Center.
 
The Eagles will advance to face the South Division's top seed in Jefferson University for the CACC Semifinals down in Caldwell, New Jersey on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.

THE BASICS

N#2 Post University 79, S#3 Wilmington University 77

N#2 Post University (20-8)

S#3 Wilmington University (16-13)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A 10-2 run by Wilmington to start off the first half looked to take the energy out of the home crowd as senior guard Taalib Holloman had four of the first 10 points of the game before Post's 9-0 run in response. Four different scorers for the Eagles paced the run which culminated in a three by junior point guard Robert Sanders to give Post an early 11-10 lead. That would be when junior guard Amiri Stewart came to life, scoring the next seven points for the Wildcats to give them a six-point edge, 19-13, and give him 10 points with still 12:50 to go in the half.
 
That lead would hold up for only a few minutes before an ensuing 7-0 run started by two free throws from freshman point guard Ta'Quan Williams and finished off by two more free throws by senior forward Derrick Thomas II to regain the lead for Post by one, 24-23. Five lead changes and a 7-0 run by Wilmington gave the road team another six-point edge that the Eagles would trim down over the last 5:14 of the first half, culminating in a 4-0 run with a steal by junior point guard Bol Akot leading to graduate forward Harrison Warnock's layup with 11 seconds left to send Post into the half with a slim 42-41 lead.
 
Despite shooting 51.7% in the first half (15-of-29) compared to 39.4% (13-of-33) for Wilmington, the difference would come from the free throw line in which the Wildcats had 12 made free throws to the Eagles' 12 free throws and forced eight turnovers leading to 12 points compared to three turnovers for four points by Post. Three Wilmington players finished the half in double figures in graduate guard Caleb Matthews leading with 14 points followed by Holloman and Stewart with 10 each. Nine different players scored for Post with Akot leading the team with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.
 
After an exchange of threes to start the second half, Wilmington's 8-0 run started by back-to-back shots from junior forward Nalik Veasley flipped the game back in favor of the Wildcats, 52-45, before the second three of the half for Warnock put it to an end. It would take over seven minutes for Post to get its first basket from inside the arc when junior forward Kyle Alcy hit his layup followed by a steal from junior forward Deng Deang which cut an eight-point deficit down to four, 61-57, with 12:04 to go.
 
Cold shooting and turnovers from both sides would define the next two minutes until Stewart's layup and a three from Thomas II broke the scoreless skid and brought Post back within three for a brief moment, 63-60, at the 9:36 mark. Yet again, scoring would come at a premium with three combined baskets made in the next 3 ½ minutes until Alcy went to the line and made a pair of shots from the charity stripe making it a three-point affair, 67-64, once again.
 
Similar to their regular season matchup, it was the Wildcats with a seven-point lead, 71-64, and under five minutes to go in regulation. Just like that game, it was Post coming down the stretch who made their march back to take the lead behind a big momentum-boosting and-one from Deang and a pair of shots by Warnock that gave the Eagles the lead, 74-73 inside of two minutes after Sanders fouled out with 3:28 to go.
 
Two big defensive stands with under one minute left looked to give Post a chance to ice it after Deang's block on Stewart, but on the ensuing inbound Holloman's layup would fall with 45 seconds left to put the Wildcats back ahead by one. With a wide-open look at a three, Warnock's miss gave Wilmington the ball back with the shot clock off, forcing Post to foul Stewart and send him to the line where he would hit two, making it 77-74.
 
With eight seconds left, Akot missed the layup before getting the rebound and being fouled by Stewart, knocking him out of the game with five fouls, before the junior went to the line and hit both shots as the Wildcats clung to a one-point edge, 77-76, with 5.8 seconds remaining and the ball. Drawing his fifth foul on the inbound, Veasley would exit the game after committing an offensive foul against Akot to give Post the ball back with one more chance to take the lead and pull off the comeback.
 
With 1.7 seconds on the clock, Akot shifted towards the middle and was fouled as he hit the layup and made the free throw to give Post a two-point lead. Sophomore guard Skip Burton would nearly drain a half-court three at the buzzer, clanking it off the front rim as Post held on for the 79-77 win to advance to the CACC Semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Bol Akot scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting with a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line and the game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds left
• Both teams shot exactly 42.9% from the field and went 27-for-63 overall from the floor
• Post University is now 13-1 when leading at the half, 7-6 when trailing, and 0-1 when tied
• Post University has now won five straight games dating back to the 2019-20 season against Wilmington University

WHO'S NEXT
Post University heads to the campus of Caldwell University in Caldwell, New Jersey for the CACC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday at 2:00 PM against the South Division one seed in Jefferson University. The Eagles dropped their lone game of the season against the Rams on the road, 77-61, back in January and have lost five of their last six matchups with Jefferson dating back to the 2018-19 season.