WATERBURY, Conn. –  In last season's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament, senior forward Deng Deang only had 25 combined points across two games for Post University Men's Basketball. In Tuesday night's CACC Quarterfinals game against South Division's third seed Goldey-Beacom College alone, Deang had 25 points to lead the way for the North Division's second seeded Eagles in the Drubner Center, helping them return to the CACC Semifinals with a 76-68 victory.

Post will now face the South Division's top seed in Jefferson University in the CACC Semifinals for the second straight season in hopes of making it to the CACC Championship for the first time since the 2003-04 season. 

THE BASICS

N#2 Post University 76, S#3 Goldey-Beacom College 68

N#2 Post University (17-12)
 
S#3 Goldey-Beacom College (11-18)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Deang was on fire in the first half for the Eagles, scoring 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting while hitting 4-of-5 free throws and corralling five rebounds, already putting him near a double-double in his nearly 17 minutes of action. Despite the tie at 33 points each at halftime between the two teams, the first half was primarily owned by Goldey-Beacom who led for nearly 15 1/2 minutes while there were a total of eight lead changes and five ties.

For the Lightning, junior forward Zayon Marsh went toe-to-toe with Deang, matching his 12 points with 12 of his own in 17 1/2 minutes while going 5-for-8 from the field during a half that saw Goldey-Beacom College shoot 13-for-30 (43.3%) overall and just 2-for-9 (22.2%) from three-point range. The largest lead for the Lightning would come with 4:44 remaining in the half in what would be a six-point lead for the visitors while Post's lead never got above two points with 8:22 left in the frame.

Trailing by two with about two minutes to go, a free throw make by senior guard Bol Akot followed by a three from graduate forward Harrison Warnock moved the game in favor of the Eagles by one, 30-29, before a responding 4-0 run by Marsh and senior forward David Robinson tilted things back in favor of the Lightning for only a brief moment. Graduate forward Derrick Thomas II beat the buzzer with one of his two long range shots of the half to pull Post even at 33. 

For a majority of the second half, it would be the Eagles staying in front of the Lightning, leading by as many as nine points following a jumper from Thomas II with 11:25 remaining in regulation, 53-44, before Goldey-Beacom blitzed their way back into the game. Nearly three minutes later, junior guard Shane Taylor tied things up at 56 all at the 8:08 mark and then two minutes later gave the Lightning their first lead of the half, 59-58, on his layup.

That would end up being the last time Goldey-Beacom found themselves ahead as Warnock kicked off a 10-0 run for Post that saw them open back up a nine-point advantage in part from back-to-back threes from Deang and Akot, giving the Eagles a 68-59 edge with 2:37 left. For the remainder of the game, 15 of the last 17 points between the two teams came from the free-throw line with the lone shot from the floor coming from freshman guard Anthony Akande inside of 30 seconds to go in the 76-68 win for Post.

Beyond Deang's 25 points, two other Eagles finished in double figures in Akot with 11 points and Thomas II scoring 10 points for a Post team that went 24-for-52 (46.25) from the field, 10-for-26 (38.5%) from three, and 18-for-25 (72.0%) from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Zakari McQueen and freshman guard Tre Powell each led the Lightning with 17 points apiece, followed by Marsh with 13 points as Goldey-Beacom went 24-for-62 (38.7%) from the floor, 5-for-23 (21.7%) from three, and 15-for-20 (75%) from the free-throw line. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Deng Deang finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting while hitting 9-of-11 free throws -- Deang fell just shy of a double-double after grabbing a game-high nine rebounds in the win
• Zakari McQueen and Tre Powell tied for the team lead in points scored with 17 each while Powell led the way shooting wise with a 6-for-12 performance from the field 
• Post University is still 13-1 this season when leading at halftime while holding a 3-9 record when trailing at halftime -- The Eagles are now 2-1 when tied at halftime after tonight having their overtime win against AIC on December 18th, 2024 be the other victory while the one loss was against Felician University on the road in February
• This is only the seventh time in program history that Post University has made it to the CACC Semifinals, holding a 2-4 record in such instances -- The Eagles are vying for their first trip to the CACC Championship since the 2003-04 season when they looked to defend its only CACC Championship from the 2002-03 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will face a familiar foe in the CACC Semifinals as they will take on South Division's top seeded Jefferson University on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 7:00 PM. In last year's CACC Semifinals, the Eagles fell 70-58 to the Rams before avenging the loss in the regular season this year at home, 70-60.