WATERBURY, Conn. – There was nothing small about graduate forward Tyler Small's performance for Post University Men's Basketball in their crucial Senior Day game on Saturday afternoon against Bloomfield College in the Drubner Center. Winning their fifth game of the season in overtime, Small's 24-point performance on 8-for-13 shooting with 5-of-7 three-point shots made helped the Eagles stave off the Bears, 98-95, locking up a spot in the CACC Tournament in less than two weeks. If Post is able to win their season finale against the University of Bridgeport, they will clinch the second seed in the CACC North and a home game in the CACC Quarterfinals. 

THE BASICS

Post University 98, Bloomfield College 95 (OT) 

Post University (15-12, 9-6 CACC)
 
Bloomfield College (13-13, 6-9 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tying their season-high in first-half points with 50 points, which they did at home against the University of Bridgeport back on December 7th, the Eagles jumped out to a 14-point lead by halftime, 50-36, behind a hot shooting half that saw two Post players reach double figures. Graduate forward Derrick Thomas II led all scorers with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, hitting both of his threes and being followed up by Small's 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting in which he made 3-for-4 shots from long range.

Only one lead change and three ties made up the first half which saw the Eagles lead by as many as 16 points while the lone lead for the Bears came right at the start of the game on a layup from junior guard Izaiah Poole. After being tied at seven all, Post would run away with the first half behind a team shooting effort in which they went 19-for-40 (47.5%) from the field and 9-for-16 (56.3%) from three. As for Bloomfield, they went only 14-for-33 (42.4%) overall with 4-of-11 shots from three made (36.4%) and were led by sophomore guard Starell Hearns with eight points on 2-for-4 shooting with two made threes.

Still leading by 14 points, 59-45, with 16:57 left in regulation, that would be when the Bears began their run to get back into the affair, scoring the next 11 points to cut their deficit down to one point in just 2 1/2 minutes. Sophomore forward Olamide Adewale led that run with eight points, en route to his game-high 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting, and despite Post maintaining a lead of one or two possessions over the next couple of minutes, Bloomfield would strike to take their first lead since the beginning of the game. 

A Hearns three followed by a jumper from senior forward Edward Ngene tied the game up at 65 all and another long ball from Hearns later on tied things up at 68 with still 9:50 to go. Olamide would give his team the lead, 72-71, with his basket at the 8:23 mark as part of a 4-0 run for the Bears who led by as many as three in the second half with 6:27 left. Seven ties and six lead changes made up the final stretch of the game for the two squads while only five points each were scored in the final 4:22 of regulation.

Poole's jumper to give Bloomfield a two-point lead was met with a pair of Akot free throws 36 seconds later followed by an Olamide jumper that helped the Bears regain the lead again, 82-80, with 2:41 left. Senior forward Deng Deang gave the Eagles the lead, 83-82, with his three with 2:13 to go, and after Olamide split free throws to tie it at 83, neither team could find the basket in the final 1:47 of regulation, including a three from graduate forward Harrison Warnock right before the buzzer to send the game to overtime. 

Coming alive once more in the extra five-minute session, Small went off for eight of the 15 Post points in overtime, near-singlehandedly willing his team across the finish line and into the CACC Tournament. Down by two, Small's three started and ended a 10-0 run for the Eagles who were ahead by eight points, 93-85, with still 2:05 remaining. Not going away quietly, makes by Poole and then Olamide from long range cut the lead down to three, 93-90, as the teams closed in on the final minute.

But big shots from senior guard Bol Akot on a layup and two Small free throws re-upped the lead to seven points with 17 seconds left before a last-chance gasp by the Bears. After junior guard Zamorian Singleton's three and a turnover from Akot led to a bucket from Hearns, Post had just a two-point lead, 97-95, with two seconds left. Although Deang would go 1-for-2 from the line, Singleton would be unable to get off a look from near half-court at the buzzer as Post locked up their tournament spot with a 98-95 win at home. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Tyler Small was on fire in the victory for Post University, pouring in a team-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting while going 5-for-7 from three which was a new season high 
• Post University is now 12-1 this season when leading at halftime while holding a 3-9 record when trailing at halftime -- The Eagles are 1-1 when tied at halftime, having their overtime win against AIC on December 18th, 2024
• Over the last two seasons, Post University is now 8-0 in games that go to overtime, including 5-0 this season with two of those games coming at home this season
• Heading into the game, Post University had lost four of their last five games against Bloomfield College since the 2022-23 season – Now with two wins in the last six games against the Bears, both have come at home while they have not won on the road against Bloomfield since the 2018-19 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes the regular season with a matchup on the road against the University of Bridgeport next Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM. At home earlier this season, the Eagles came out on top, 111-100, behind a 36-point performance from Ta'Quan Williams and a 31-point game from Deng Deang.