NEW HAVEN, Conn. –  Graduate forward Derrick Thomas II nearly had his first double-double of the season scoring 14 points and snagging nine rebounds while sophomore guard Ta'Quan Williams led Post University Men's Basketball with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting in Wednesday night's road matchup against Southern Connecticut State University. But a 28-8 run by the Owls in the first half paced them to victory as the late comeback by the Eagles fell short in a 77-71 loss to round out non-conference play for the season. 

THE BASICS

Post University 71, Southern Connecticut State University 77

Post University (8-7)

Southern Connecticut State University (6-7)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming off his 19-point, 12-rebound double-double against Holy Family University on Saturday, graduate forward Harrison Warnock picked up right where he left off in the first half against the Owls on Wednesday. Warnock led all scorers at the halftime break with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting while making two of his four three-point attempts in 18 minutes of action. Williams also had himself a hot start to the game with nine points in 18 minutes after going 3-for-4 from the floor while hitting a three and a pair of free throws.

But a balanced attack by Southern Connecticut State University saw them head into the halftime break with a 12-point advantage as all seven players recorded points while being led by a 4-for-5 performance from the field by freshman guard Christian McClease. Both teams shot 50% from the floor going into the second half while the Owls making 17 field goals, including 8-of-15 threes, to Post's 13 field goals, which featured 3-of-7 threes made. 

The Eagles would lead 11-7 with 14:36 to go in the first half before Southern Connecticut exploded for 28 points over the next eight minutes, outscoring Post by a 28-8 margin which saw them take a game-high 16-point lead with 6:41 remaining. In response, a 7-0 run which featured four points from Warnock helped the Eagles shut down the stretch and eventually pull as close as six points inside of three minutes on a three from Warnock which rounded out his scoring in the first half. 

It would not be until the 2:38 mark of the second half in which the Eagles would get the closest they would for the entire game, pulling within two points following a 7-0 run by Williams, Thomas II, and junior guard Tre Duncan. Post trailed by as many as 13 points in the latter part of the second half following a layup from senior forward Antonio Chandler, but were never able to pull even or take the lead down the stretch. Following their run, which made it a 69-67 game, Chandler responded by scoring the next five points for the Owls who re-upped their lead to seven points with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. 

In what would be a 77-71 win for Southern Connecticut, they would shoot 40% from the floor after going just 9-for-31 in the second half, but making 12-of-18 (66.6%) of their free throws. Four players, including Chandler, finished in double digits for the Owls as was the case for Post beyond Williams and Warnock, who was held to two second-half points, but the difference would come from beyond the arc. In the contest, the Eagles would finish shooting 45.8% after going 27-for-59 overall and 14-for-33 in the second half, but were only 5-for-16 (31.3%) from three-point range. 

That was in contrast to the Southern Connecticut offense which manufactured 10 triples on a 10-for-25 (40%) shooting day in which they were paced by eight first-half threes while making just two in the second half. The Eagles finished the game having gone 12-for-18 from the charity stripe which was the same amount of free throws the Owls had in the second half alone, but Southern Connecticut only took four first-half free throws in which they were 3-for-4 to finish the night 15-for-22 (68.2%) overall. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Ta'Quan Williams led all scorers with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting for Post University marking the second time this season in which he has recorded 20 or more points in a game and the tenth time in which he has shot at least 40% from the field 
• Antonio Chandler finished with a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double for Southern Connecticut State University while shooting 7-for-11 from the floor in the Owls' win 
• This season, Post University remains 6-0 when leading at halftime and falls to1-7 when trailing at halftime 
• This is the first time in program history in which Post University has faced Southern Connecticut State University in a non-neutral site game – Five of the first six matchups took place in Bridgeport, Connecticut while the sixth was in Orangeburg, New York between 2011 and 2023

WHO'S NEXT
Post University comes home for their first conference home game since the beginning of December when they take on Chestnut Hill College on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM in the Drubner Center. Last season, the Eagles saw their six-game winning streak against the Griffins snapped as they fell on the road, 74-66, last February.