WILMINGTON, Del. –  Making his first start since January 14th against Felician University at home, junior guard Tre Duncan helped lead Post University Men's Basketball back into the win column against Wilmington University, 81-72, on Saturday afternoon with his 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Duncan was one of five scorers for the Eagles to finish in double digits as sophomore guard Ta'Quan Williams matched him with 15 points on the afternoon in the win.

THE BASICS

Post University 81, Wilmington University 72

Post University (12-10, 6-4 CACC)
 
Wilmington University (5-16, 3-6 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In senior forward Deng Deang's return, he would have six points in the first half while grabbing a team-high five rebounds for the Eagles who led by three heading into halftime, 38-35, after shooting 12-for-28 (42.9%) from the field while hitting 6-of-10 (60%) threes and 8-of-10 (80%) of their free throws. 

Junior guard Justin Perez helped the Wildcats keep pace, scoring nine points on 4-for-9 shooting while being one of eight players for Wilmington to get on the scoreboard in the first half. Post would find themselves playing from behind early on, trialing by six points, 11-5, with 15:38 left before slowly chipping the deficit down to two points over the next 2 ½ minutes. 

It would not be until a 5-0 run by sophomore guard Ta'Quan Williams and graduate forward Derrick Thomas II in which the Eagles would take their first lead since it was 3-2, going ahead 18-17 with 10:29 remaining, which the Wildcats would answer back on with a layup from freshman guard Jaylin Horsey to regain the lead back. 

That would be the first of five lead changes and two ties down the stretch of the first half until with the game tied at 33 and only 2:30 remaining, another 5-0 run by Post with the help of Deang, graduate forward Harrison Warnock, and graduate guard Tyler Small shot the Eagles ahead by five. Freshman forward Tre Hawkins' layup would break up that run to end the half, cutting Post's edge down to that three-point advantage, 38-35, heading into the locker room. 

Post would never relinquish the lead they gained at the end of the first half, leading by as many as 14 points after a layup from senior guard Bol Akot with 9:54 left in regulation. Five points would be the closest the Wildcats would get on six occasions throughout the second half of action, but every time the Eagles would answer back, expanding on their lead and keeping Wilmington at a distance. 

Following that 14-point lead, 65-51, the Wildcats would use five points from Perez and four points from senior guard Izaiah Credle to make it a five-point game on a 9-0 run that lasted just under three minutes before Warnock broke it up with a pair of free throw makes. Credle would answer back with a layup of his own before Williams and Duncan combined by five straight points, re-upping the Post lead to double digits at 10 with 5:20 left. 

En route to their eventual nine-point win, 81-72, the Eagles would hit 13-of-17 (76.4%) of their free throws along with 13-of-27 (48.1%) of their shots from the floor to finish the day at 45.5% overall after going 25-for-55. From long range, Post was equally as impressive as they hit 10-of-20 (50%) of their threes. Both teams would take exactly 55 shots from the field and 20 shots from three-point range with the Eagles getting the better of Wilmington from beyond the arc, but the Wildcats better them from the field overall after going 28-for-55 (50.9%). 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Harrison Warnock narrowly missed his fifth double-double of the season after scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds in the victory 
• Bol Akot recorded his thirteenth straight game finishing with 10-plus points after scoring 12 points on 3-for-14 shooting -- Akot now has 20 games this season in which he has reached double-digit points 
• Post University moves to 10-1 this season when leading at halftime while remaining 1-9 on the season when trailing at halftime -- The Eagles are 1-0 when tied at halftime which was their overtime win against AIC on December 18th, 2024 
• Post University extends their winning streak against Wilmington University to six straight games since the 2021-22 season with this being their largest margin of victory since their 92-81 win back on February 11th, 2023 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University has a rematch against Dominican (N.Y.) slated for Wednesday night at 7:30 PM in the Drubner Center as the regular season continues to wind down. Back in December, the Eagles were unable to keep up with the Chargers on the road, falling 72-61 in that affair and suffering their fourth loss in the last five matchups of the all-time series.