PHILADELPHIA, Penn. -- Seeking their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and first by way of the auto-bid as the conference champion, North Division two seed Post University Men's Basketball took on the North Division three seed in the University of Bridgeport on Sunday afternoon for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship Game, their first since the 2003-04 season and the first for the Purple Knights since joining the CACC three years ago.

A team they had beaten in five consecutive head-to-head matchups, the Eagles were unable to get the job done to secure their first CACC Championship since the 2002-03 season, as four double-digit scorers for Bridgeport helped them hold off Post in the second half, capturing their first CACC Men's Basketball Championship, with a 67-57 win. 

THE BASICS

N#2 Post University 57, N#3 University of Bridgeport 67

N#2 Post University (18-13)
 
N#3 University of Bridgeport (19-12)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Most of the first half was mired in a back-and-forth battle that saw neither side let the other out of their sight, which was the opposite of the case in the last two matchups this season that Post won by double-digit margins. Post's largest lead would be three points with 18:08 to go in the first half, while the high mark for the Purple Knights was seven points with 7:00 remaining in the half. 

But the Eagles would answer back to cut that deficit down to three as sophomore guard Ta'Quan Williams scored four straight points over the next 30 seconds, which would end up being the deficit at halftime just over six minutes later, 31-28. Williams led Post with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting while going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, but would end up only finishing with 15 points after scoring just once in the second half, where he was 1-for-5 from the field. 

Neither team shot the ball particularly well with the Eagles going 8-for-26 (30.8%) overall but making up for it at the free-throw line with a 10-for-14 (71.4%) half to keep it close. On the other hand, for Bridgeport, they were 13-for-33 (39.4%) from the field and 1-for-2 on free throws but did some damage from long range with a 4-for-13 (30.8%) start from three. Junior guard Aliou Cisse, the CACC Player of the Year, had 10 points up to that point to lead the team on 4-for-8 shooting. 

The last lead of the championship for Post would come with 15:15 left in regulation as senior forward Deng Deang hit a jumper to put them ahead by one, 40-39. But just 11 seconds later, Cisse's layup gave the Purple Knights the lead for good as Bridgeport started an 8-0 run to open up a seven-point lead, 47-40. That lead would grow to as many as 11 points while never falling below five points down the stretch, which came when Deang hit a pair of free throws with 4:56 left before a 5-0 run by the Purple Knights put the game to rest in their favor, 67-57, earning them their first CACC Championship in Men's Basketball.

Named the CACC Tournament MVP after the game, Cisse finished with a team-best 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting while being one of four Bridgeport players to reach double-digit scoring. Graduate forward Jason Edokpayi and junior guard Malikai Delgado each finished with 12 points while graduate guard Justin Hendrick poured in 11 points in the victory. 

For Post, Williams and Warnock each led the way with 15 points on a combined 9-for-21 shooting while Deang was held in check by the Bridgeport defense, finishing with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting with five rebounds. The Eagles, while unlikely to get an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, will wait to see for sure if their season is over following the Selection Show, which takes place tonight at 11:00 PM. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Bol Akot, Deng Deang, and Ta'Quan Williams were all named to the CACC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team while Aliou Cisse, Malikai Delgado, and Caleb Jacobs were named to it for the University of Bridgeport -- Aliou was also named the Tournament MVP 
• This was the first time that Post University and the University of Bridgeport faced each other in the CACC Championship Game for Men's Basketball as well as in the CACC Tournament since the Purple Knights joined three seasons ago
• Post University finishes the season 14-1 when leading at halftime, while falling to a 3-10 record when trailing at halftime, and 2-1 when tied at halftime 
• In the program's history, Post University is now 1-2 in the CACC Championship Game with losses to Bloomfield College (2003-04) and the University of Bridgeport (2024-25) while winning their lone CACC title against Felician University, 74-70, during the 2002-03 season
• The CACC Championship for the University of Bridgeport is their first since they joined the conference for the 2022-23 season – This is only the third season in which the Purple Knights have been part of the conference 
• Losing to the University of Bridgeport today snaps a five-game winning streak for Post University in the head-to-head series with the last loss coming on November 30th, 2022 in the Drubner Center, 86-66

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will await the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show taking place tonight at 11:00 PM to see if their run at the end of the season could earn them an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.