LAKEWOOD, N.J. –  For the second time in three games, graduate forward Derrick Thomas II had himself a career game, tying the career-high he set two games ago against Goldey-Beacom College with 30 points for Post University Men's Basketball in Saturday afternoon's regular-season finale on the road against Georgian Court University, to lead the Eagles back from a 16-point deficit for a 74-72 victory.

Post's seeding is still up in the air as the result of tonight's Dominican (N.Y) game against Wilmington University will decide their seed and opponent for next week's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Quarterfinals game on Tuesday night. 

THE BASIC

Post University 74, Georgian Court University 72

Post University (12-16, 11-9 CACC)

Georgian Court University (10-18, 7-13 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The hot shooting of Thomas II continued against the Lions, as the graduate student put up 16 first-half points on 4-for-11 shooting, while connecting on all eight of his free throw attempts. His efforts would singlehandedly help get Post back into the game after they trailed by 16 points with 9:03 to go, 22-6, to the Lions.

Sophomore forward Anthony Chinn's first points of the game sparked a stretch in which the Eagles scored 21 of the next 26 points between the two sides, turning that 16-point deficit into a tie game. At the start of the 21-5 run, Thomas II had just two points, and by the end of it, he was up to 11 points, accounting for nine points on the blitz that made it 27 all.

All by himself, senior guard Cam Edmonds went on a 6-0 run after Post tied the game up, giving the Lions a six-point lead that was quickly again met with a response by the Eagles. With two seconds left, Thomas II was fouled on a three-point shot, making all three attempts, then took two technical free throws to make it five points in a row for Post.

Completing a stretch in which he had the last eight points for the Lions, Edmonds was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play by freshman guard Harry Scully, finally bringing the first half to a close with the home team ahead by three, 35-32. Edmonds ended up finishing the half with the team lead in points at 10 on 2-for-4 shooting, as Georgian Court was 11-for-28 (39.3%) from the floor as a team. While they never led in the first half, outside of Thomas II, the Eagles saw graduate forward Gianni Thompson score seven points in his return to the floor, while shooting 10-for-32 (31.3%) as a team, and going 11-for-13 (84.6%) from the free-throw line.

It did not take long in the second half for Post to claim its first lead of the game as Thomas II and senior guard Tre Duncan went on a 4-0 run following a layup from Edmonds to put them ahead by one, 38-37, with 17:03 remaining in regulation. After a few back-and-forth exchanges of the lead, it was the Lions taking back control for a bit after going on a 10-0 run while trailing 42-39, led by three points each from Edmonds and freshman forward Jaycen Santucci, making it a seven-point lead for the home team nearing the midway point of the frame.

Georgian Court would cling on to that narrow advantage up until the five-minute mark when Thomas II spurred on a 6-0 run with the Eagles trailing by five, 59-54, giving them a one-point lead with four minutes remaining. Still, down the stretch, each side would match the other in a game that ended up seeing two ties and nine lead changes when all was set and done. The dagger would finally come with a three-ball from Thomas II, bringing him to 30 points in the game, followed by a Scully layup that increased the Post lead to five points, 71-66, as the minute mark neared in the affair.

Junior guard Ta'Quan Williams would hit a pair of free throws that all but iced the game, as Post escaped with a 74-72 win, moving them to 13-0 in the all-time series against the Lions, led by 30 points from Thomas II on 9-for-21 shooting while going 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. The graduate student was the only player to finish in double figures for the Eagles, who shot 40% as a team (26-for-65), while Edmonds and Santucci nearly both had double-doubles for Georgian Court with 25 and 13 points, respectively, and nine rebounds each. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Derrick Thomas II has now finished with 30 points in two of his last three games, with the outlier being a 28-point performance on the road against Dominican (N.Y.) earlier this week -- Thomas II's career-high for points in a game is currently 30 points, as he reached that mark today, shooting 9-for-21 overall and a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line
• Cam Edmonds nearly finished with a double-double for Georgian Court University, scoring 25 points on 7-for-16 shooting, hitting 11-for-13 of his free throws, while recording nine rebounds
• At halftime this season, Post University is 7-2 when leading at halftime, while being 5-13 when trailing and 0-1 when tied
• Post University remains unbeaten against Georgian Court University in the all-time series, now sitting at 13-0 win this being the second closest victory in that stretch -- Post's 2017-18 season win on the road against the Lions serves as the closest win, an 84-83 win in overtime

 
WHO'S NEXT
Post University will await tonight's Dominican (N.Y.) game against Wilmington University at 6:00 PM to see what seed they will be in the CACC Tournament, which will begin Tuesday night with the Eagles as the fifth or sixth seed.