BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Trailing by 11 points at halftime, Post University Men's Basketball had a second-half surge behind a 20-point effort on the day for junior guard Zion Lott, but the Franklin Pierce offense would regather itself down the stretch across the final 11 minutes to regain control of the affair, finishing the Bridgeport Tip-Off Tournament with a 10-point win over the Eagles, 76-66, on Sunday afternoon. 

THE BASICS

Post University 66, Franklin Pierce University 76

Post University (1-1)

Franklin Pierce University (2-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Lott's first half saw him record just seven points on 3-of-4 shooting with a three-pointer. Still, Post would find themselves down 11points, 35-24, heading into the break behind a team-high 16 points from graduate forward Raymond Baka. Baka was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and made all six of his free throws in 16 minutes up to that point before being held to only two points in the second half and one field goal. 

Nonetheless, graduate forward Beni Lavodrama would pick up the offense in the second half in place of Baka's quiet session, finishing with a double-double after scoring 19 points to lead the Ravens on 7-of-15 shooting with 10 rebounds. Lavodrama had six points and three field goals at halftime in only 13 1/2 minutes played, but 11 of his points would come in the second half after Post tied the game up at 45 all with 11:38 left in regulation. Up to that point, the Eagles only had the lead for about seven minutes of game time as Lott opened things up with a three, and Post would remain in front until a 13-0 run by the Ravens flipped the first half in their favor, 20-9. 

Franklin Pierce's lead stretched to as many as 13 points twice before Lott's three in the second half helped spark the Eagle offense to chip away at their deficit. Trailing still by 10 points with 18:09 to go, graduate forward Derrick Thomas II's free throw would be the start of a 10-0 run for Post over the next 1:40 of action to tie things up at 39 all. Thomas II finished with 11 rebounds, closing out the weekend at the Bridgeport Tip-Off Tournament with an average of 12.5 rebounds per game, which led all Post players. Although remaining tight for the next several minutes, free-throw misses would also kill momentum for the Eagles, who finished 10-for-19 (52.6%) overall from the line and 9-for-15 (60%) in the second half. Three of those second-half misses would come during the Eagles' attempts to will themselves back into the game, which they would do successfully twice, pulling even at 39 and 45. 

But after being knotted up at 45 with 11:38 left, junior forward Emmanuel Ferreras' and-one opportunity swung momentum back in favor of the Ravens, who never relinquished the lead after their 7-0 run. Although junior forward Deng Akok would help Post punch back with a 5-0 run, the deficit would never go below two points the rest of the game, until Franklin Pierce was able to pull away. Akok, who had seven points in 18 minutes off the bench, hit a layup with 2:02 left that made it a one-possession game, 69-66, which would end up being the last field goal of the game for Post, who saw the Ravens score seven consecutive points to take the double-digit victory, 76-66.

Beyond the performances of Lavodrama and Baka, sophomore guard Anthony Parker was the only other double-digit scorer for Franklin Pierce with 16 points on 4-of-14 shooting, making three shots from beyond the arc, and five free throws. Junior guard Ta'Quan Williams chipped in 13 points in 36 minutes for the Eagles on 6-for-18 (33.3%) shooting, as Lott and Williams accounted for 13 of the 24 made baskets by Post in the affair, as the team shot 24-for-67 overall (35.8%) and 8-for-30 (26.7%) from three. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• For the second consecutive game, Derrick Thomas II finished with double-digit rebounds, recording a game-high 11 rebounds for a total of 25 rebounds on the weekend
• Zion Lott closed the weekend as Post University's top scorer, averaging 17.5 points per game following his 15-point and 20-point efforts during the Bridgeport Tip-Off Tournament
• Beni Lavodrama finished with a double-double for Franklin Pierce University, tallying a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Ravens' victory
• Sunday's matchup against Franklin Pierce University marked just the second time since the 2009-10 season in which Post University has faced the Ravens -- The Eagles picked up their first win in program history against them last season at the Bridgeport Tip-Off in overtime, 90-88

WHO'S NEXT
Post University wastes no time getting back to action this upcoming week when they head to Assumption University to take on the East Region's 2024-25 champion Greyhounds on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. The Eagles have split their last two matchups against Assumption, falling at home by three points last season, 73-70, after beating them on the road, 75-70, the year before.