WATERBURY, Conn. – Sophomore guard Zakari McQueen dropped a game-high 29 points on 8-for-15 shooting, with all eight shots coming from three-point range, helping keep Goldey-Beacom College slightly ahead against Post University Men's Basketball before a game-tying three-point play from graduate forward Derrick Thomas II looked to send the game to overtime.

However, it would be freshman guard Tre Powell who hit a floating layup with 2.4 seconds left in regulation, leading the Lightning to a four-point victory, 89-85, following a last-second turnover by Thomas II on the inbound play. 

THE BASICS

Post University 85, Goldey-Beacom College 89

Post University (13-11, 7-5 CACC)
 
Goldey-Beacom College (10-13, 7-5 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Four lead changes and eight ties highlighted a tightly-contested first half for both teams in which the largest lead would be only six points by the Lightning with 13:07 remaining in the frame while the largest lead for the Eagles resided at only three points. Sophomore guard Ta'Quan Williams had a strong start to the affair with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor to lead Post while McQueen was the leading scorer for Goldey-Beacom with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting to start things off.

Both teams shot above 45% in the half with the Eagles holding a slight edge having gone 16-for-33 (48.5%) from the floor compared to 14-for-30 (46.7%) from the Lightning with the difference coming from three-point land. For Goldey-Beacom, they were led by McQueens' four three-point makes on five attempts to finish 8-for-14 (57.1%) from the long-range while Post was just 4-for-13 (30.8%).

Following a layup from senior forward Deng Deang to tie the game up at 11 points, junior forward Zayon Marsh kicked off a 6-0 run for the Lightning to give them their largest lead, accounting for three of the six points while assisting on the three from McQueen. At the 10:06 mark, the Eagles would take their last lead of the opening half following a 6-0 run in part because of two Goldey-Beacom turnovers which graduate forward Harrison Warnock made the most of, scoring four of the six points.

Despite falling behind by five points with 3:37 remaining, 39-34, senior guard Bol Akot and the Post offense would continue to punch back at every Lightning attempt to take control of the affair. Pulling even at 39 all following a three-point play from Williams, a quiet final 1:23 after a pair of Akot free throws sent Goldey-Beacom into the locker room ahead by just two points, 43-41. 

In total, the game would end up finishing with 14 lead changes and 11 ties as the two teams continued to battle throughout the second half in a game that looked destined to head to overtime. After a Powell jumper and McQueen three around a basket from Akot made it a five-point game, 48-43, Deang would go on to score four points as part of a mini 9-2 run that helped the Eagles regain the lead by two, 52-50, with still 16 minutes to go in regulation. 

Just over the halfway point of the second half, Post looked to pull away after trailing 62-61 and embarking on a 7-0 run which started with a momentum-changing dunk from senior forward Kyle Alcy. Maintaining at least a two-possession lead for the next five minutes, Powell would flip the momentum back in favor of the Lightning as his three-ball kicked off his own 5-0 run to give the Lightning the lead back by one, 76-75, with 3:56 left.

Now down one, 77-76, McQueen led the Lightning on another run of five straight points to help them take a four-point lead, 81-77, with only 1:18 remaining which was met with a layup from junior guard Tre Duncan to cut the deficit back down to two. After junior guard Shane Taylor converted on a pair of free throws, Thomas II came to life with back-to-back three-point plays around another pair of free throws from Taylor, tying the game at 85 all with 32 seconds left.

Electing not to use a timeout, Goldey-Beacom rushed down the court with two seconds separating the game clock from the shot clock and set up Powell for what would ultimately be the game-winning shot with his floater at the 2.4-second mark. Coming out of the timeout, Thomas II's inbound pass would get stolen away by junior forward Zayon Marsh, who finished with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double, and hit his two free throws with 1.3 seconds to go, giving the Lightning the 89-85 win. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Zakari McQueen finished with a game-high 29 points on 8-for-15 shooting, making 8-of-13 shots from three-point range and going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line
• Bol Akot has now reached double-digit scoring in 14 straight games after scoring 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting and hitting all three of his free throws -- Akot has 22 games this season in which he has reached double-digit points 
• Post University falls to 3-9 on the season when trailing at halftime while remaining 10-1 when leading at the break -- The Eagles are 1-0 when tied at halftime which was their overtime win against AIC on December 18th, 2024 
• The loss for Post University snaps a four-game winning streak in the all-time series for the Eagles against Goldey-Beacom College -- The last time Post lost to the Lightning was February 9th, 2019 on the road in a 91-69 defeat

WHO'S NEXT
Post University heads on the road for a quick matchup on Tuesday night against Felician University at 5:00 PM in a rematch of their game in the Drubner Center earlier this season. In that game, the Eagles came out on top, 74-69, winning their fifth straight game against the Golden Falcons since the 2022-23 season and ninth game in their last 10 in the all-time series.