WILMINGTON, Del. – Graduate forward Derrick Thomas II shot 8-for-12 from the floor with a team-leading 23 points for Post University Men's Basketball, but junior guard Emarquis Jones' 24 points as part of four Lightning players to reach double figures would be enough to lead Goldey-Beacom College to their second win in the last three meetings against the Eagles, 83-73, in Saturday's road matchup.

THE BASIC

Post University 73, Goldey-Beacom College 83

Post University (4-10, 3-3 CACC)

Goldey-Beacom College (10-6, 4-4 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Efficiency was the name of the game in the first half for both teams as they finished an identical 50% from the floor with Post hitting 13 shots, including five from three, while Goldey-Beacom connected on 16 shots with four coming from long range. At the free throw line, the Eagles made all seven of their attempts compared to a 4-for-6 effort by the Lightning, who carried a two-point lead into halftime, 40-38.

Jones kicked off the scoring for both sides with his layup, going on to lead Goldey-Beacom with 14 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting, in which he hit both of his threes. Sophomore guard Tre Powell lurked close behind Jones with nine points on 4-for-8 shooting with one three, as outside of the two threes from Jones, the Lightning were only 4-for-18 (22.2%) from beyond the arc.

Post's offense ran through Thomas II's 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, as well as another efficient half from junior guard Zion Lott, leading to eight points on 3-for-5 shooting. In all, seven different players recorded first-half points for the Eagles, while both teams took care of the ball to the tune of five turnovers for Post compared to only four for Goldey-Beacom College.

Only two lead changes and a single tie would make up the first half as the largest lead for the Eagles came following a three from freshman guard Harry Scully, making it a six-point game, 13-7, while the Lightning's came later with 3:34 to go on a layup from junior forward Julian Williams, giving the home team an eight-point advantage, 37-29.

Immediately to start the second half, the lead would swing back in favor of Post with a three from junior forward Deng Akok, 41-40, but that would be the last time in which the Eagles were ahead as an ensuing 15-4 run by the Lightning, led by two threes from Jones, and five threes overall from the Goldey-Beacom offense, put them back in control by 10 points, 55-45, with 16:08 remaining in regulation.

With the offensive scoring of both Lott and Scully towards the midway point of the 20-minute session, Post would pull back within three points, 62-59, before the Lightning re-upped their lead once more and maintained at least a two-possession advantage until inside of four minutes to go when the Eagles made one final push. Junior guard Ta'Quan Williams got the attempted rally started with his three-pointer, and following a jumper from sophomore guard Anthony Akande, a critical and-one for Thomas II made it a one-possession game with 2:38 left.

Senior guard Tre Duncan would proceed to force a steal but miss the layup opportunity as well as the subsequent attempt out of the timeout that Post took, opening the door for Williams on the other end to lay it up for a five-point lead. Although Thomas II would split a pair of free throws on the ensuing Post possession, Powell's four free throws and Akande's dunk down the stretch gave the Lightning the breathing room they needed to escape with a 10-point win, 83-73.

After scoring 12 second-half points, Thomas II closed with 23 points to lead the Eagles on 8-for-12 shooting as one of four players in double figures, being followed up by Williams (13 points), Lott (12 points), and graduate forward Brody Limric (10 points). Outside of the 24-point performance for Jones on 9-of-11 shooting for Goldey-Beacom, Powell narrowly missed a double-double with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds, while also tacking on five assists.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Derrick Thomas II had one of his best shooting games of the season, going 8-for-12 (66.7%) from the floor, including hitting 6-of-7 free throws to lead Post University with 23 points
• Emarquis Jones was near-perfect from the floor for Goldey-Beacom College, going 9-for-11 overall, hitting all four of his shots from three-point range, and scoring 24 points
• At halftime this season, Post University is a perfect 4-0 when leading at halftime, while being 0-9 when trailing and 0-1 when tied 
• Since winning 12 of the first 13 matchups against Goldey-Beacom College, Post University is now 7-9 in its last 16 head-to-head games since the 2010-11 season

WHO'S NEXT
Post University faces Caldwell University on Wednesday in the Drubner Center at 7:30 PM. The Eagles snapped a six-game losing streak in the all-time series against the Cougars last February with a 31-point win at home, 88-57.