RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Looking to bounce back from a last-second loss at home against Goldey-Beacom College on Saturday afternoon, Post University Men's Basketball hit the road to face Felician University on Wednesday evening, where shooting struggles for the Eagles would prove costly in their 26-point defeat at the hands of the Golden Falcons, 77-51.

Graduate forward Harrison Warnock, who was named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's Student-Athlete of the Month, scored a team-high 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting in just 21 minutes played, while Post shot 28.1% from the floor as a team in the second half and 11.7% from three-point range in that same stretch. 

THE BASICS

Post University 51, Felician University 77

Post University (13-12, 7-6 CACC)
 
Felician University (13-10, 6-7 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither side would shoot the ball particularly well in the first half, with the Eagles going 11-for-32 (34.8%) from the field and converting 3-of-8 (37.5%) of their threes while taking six free throws and making four of them. On the Golden Falcons' side, they shot the ball at a 37.4% clip after making just 10-of-27 shots, going 3-for-10 (30%) from three and 6-for-8 (75%) from the free throw line. Similar to the first matchup this season in the Drubner Center, neither team would let the other out of their sight, with things being tied up at 29 all after 20 minutes of action. 

In a tale of two first halves, junior guard Tre Duncan and senior forward Deng Deang led a 6-0 run that gave Post their first lead of the game by four points, 8-4, and at one point, following a three by senior guard Bol Akot and layup from Warnock, went up to a game-high seven points with 10:57 left in the half, 16-9. Enter in sophomore guard Jabri Fitzpatrick, who finished with a game-high 22 points, with back-to-back threes and eight total points on a 15-0 run for Felician that turned their seven-point deficit into an eight-point lead, 24-16.

But Warnock and Post answered back with six straight points of their own, led by four from the graduate student to help cut the deficit back down to two inside of 2 1/2 minutes, 24-22. Down by six again, Duncan's three helped the Eagles close the half with seven of the last nine points scored, including a jumper by Akot just before the buzzer, which pulled them even. 

However, the second half would be a different story after another jumper by Akot gave Post a one-point lead, 36-35, which would end up being the last time they were in front for the rest of the evening. Over the next four minutes and change, the Golden Falcons would go on a game-changing 15-2 run that gave them a 12-point lead, which they would never look back on, maintaining a double-digit advantage until the clock struck zero. 

The largest lead of the affair would not come until the end of the game when Fitzpatrick's final basket with 28 seconds left made it a 26-point lead for Felician in their 77-51 victory over Post. A lights-out second half for the Golden Falcons was aided by a 17-for-29 (58.6%) shooting performance with 13-of-14 made free throws and only four three-point attempts taken in which they would connect on one. The first-half shooting woes continued in the second half for the Eagles, who were 9-for-32 (28.1%) and finished the night shooting 31.3% overall while going 5-for-25 (20%) from three and taking only eight free throws over 40 minutes. 

As it stands following Wednesday night's action, the North Division continues to be tight, with Dominican (N.Y.) leading the way at 11-2 and the University of Bridgeport in second at 9-4. After losing on Wednesday, Caldwell University sits at 7-5 in third place, followed by Post at 7-6 in fourth place, who they hold the tiebreaker over. But right behind the Eagles are both Bloomfield College at 6-7, who also holds the tiebreaker against the Eagles, and Felician at 6-7 after their win and split against Post. 

Only three games for the Eagles remain on their regular season conference slate against Caldwell, Bloomfield, and Bridgeport over the next two weeks, with each one being significant to how the final North Division standings will shake out and who will make the CACC Tournament in March. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Jabri Fitzpatrick led all scorers with 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting while hitting 8-of-11 free throws for Felician University -- Jhonny Tovar finished the night with a game-high 14 rebounds and just four points shy of a double-double with six points
• Bol Akot's double-digit scoring streak was snapped at 15 straight games after scoring just seven points on 3-for-8 shooting with four assists and three rebounds -- Akot has 22 games this season in which he has reached double-digit points 
• Post University remain 3-9 on the season when trailing at halftime while also staying 10-1 when leading at the break -- The Eagles are 1-1 when tied at halftime, having their overtime win against AIC on December 18th, 2024, in addition to tonight's loss
• This is the first time since the 2022 CACC Tournament Semifinals in which Post University has lost to Felician University, snapping a five-game winning streak that, heading into the day, included wins in nine of the last 10 matchups since the 2019-20 season

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes its home regular season schedule with a pair of games over the next week as they face Caldwell University this Saturday at 3:00 PM before taking on Bloomfield College next Saturday for Senior Day at 3:00 PM to close out their home regular season schedule.