BRIDGEPORT, Conn. –  It was an unorthodox afternoon for Post University Men's Basketball as the water main break in Waterbury, Connecticut, forced their home game in the Drubner Center down to the nearby University of Bridgeport on Tuesday afternoon. Another stellar performance from junior guard Ta'Quan Williams, who poured in 21 points, would not be enough for Post as they fell to Bentley University, 80-69, closing out the 2025 side of their home schedule.

THE BASICS

Post University 69, Bentley University 80

Post University (3-7)

Bentley University (5-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Through 20 minutes of action, Post would only lead one time on a three by graduate forward Derrick Thomas II, only 25 seconds into the first half. After that, a 10-0 run in response by the Falcons gave them the lead for good as senior guard Cash McClure recorded his 1,000th career point with Bentley during that stretch, which lasted about three minutes.

While McClure finished the first half with five points on 2-of-6 shooting and four rebounds, senior forward Chase Clarke led the offensive charge for the Falcons with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field. As a team, Bentley was 50% overall shooting in the first half, going 15-for-30, but only making one shot from three-point range on eight attempts. Sophomore guard Mantas Zilys also had a big first half with eight points, converting on all six of his free throw attempts.

The leading scorer on the team, Williams, continued to lead Post with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, while Thomas II had six rebounds, tacking on five points offensively. Despite trailing by only eight at the break, 40-32, the Eagles were outrebounded by a large 23-10 margin, shooting 12-for-29 (41.4%) from the floor, making 5-of-13 shots from beyond the arc (38.5%).

Post would end up never leading again after that early 3-2 lead, only pulling within three points twice down the back end of the second half. Bentley's lead expanded to a game-high 13 points, 55-42, with 13:11 left in regulation, holding at 12 points for a little while, before freshman guard Harry Scully started an 8-0 run for the Eagles with his three, bringing the deficit down to eight points in only two minutes. 

Although the Falcons responded with five straight points from McClure, another brief run, this time of five straight points from graduate forward Gianni Thomspon and senior guard Tre Duncan, made it only a three-point game with exactly four minutes left. Still trailing by three, 68-65, following Scully's jumper with 2:41 to go, that would be when McClure's responding jumper led to a 6-0 effort for Bentley, allowing them to pull away for good with the 11-point win, 80-69. 

Beyond the 21-point outing from Williams, Duncan would pour in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while junior forward Deng Akok was 4-for-7 from the floor with 15 points off the bench in 21 minutes. However, the rebounding game would loom large for the Eagles as they finished being outrebounded 45-24 overall, including 10-3 on the offensive glass, which resulted in 17 second-chance points from the Falcons. 

Clarke recorded a double-double for Bentley with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 13 rebounds, while Mantas led the way with 19 points, including a 12-for-12 performance from the free throw line, followed by 18 points from McClure, and 13 points from graduate forward Ivan Misic, rounding out the quartet of double-digit scorers for the Falcons.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Ta'Quan Williams continued to anchor the Post University offense, finishing with a team-high and game-high 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting, and a perfect 6-for-6 shooting afternoon from the free throw line
• Cash McClure recorded his 1,000th career point with Bentley University in this afternoon's game – McClure is in his fourth season with the Falcons and finished with 18 points 
• At halftime this season, Post University is a perfect 3-0 when leading at halftime, while being 0-6 when trailing and 0-1 when tied 
• The loss for Post University snaps a two-game winning streak against Bentley University, as the Eagles won their matchup with the Falcons each of the last two seasons – Bentley won the previous seven matchups before that win streak by Post

WHO'S NEXT
In their final game of 2025, Post University heads to Saint Anselm College on Friday for a 3:00 PM tip-off against the Hawks.  The Eagles saw their four-game winning streak against Saint Anselm snapped last December at home in a 91-74 loss, as the Hawks maintain a 12-4 edge in the all-time series dating back to the 2004-05 season.