Men's Basketball

February 9, 2008

WATERBURY, Conn.-Junior forward AJ Reitter (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) scored a game-high 25 points, in leading the Post University men's basketball team to an 80-65 win over Dominican College, on Saturday afternoon, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) game at the Drubner Center.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 12-11 overall and solidify their first place hold in the CACC North Division with a 9-4 mark. The loss drops Dominican to 11-12 overall and 6-6 in the CACC.

It was the 17^th game this season, that the junior from Baltimore has scored it double figures for the Eagles. It was also the fourth game that he has scored 20 or more points, and first since his career-high 42-point effort against Felician in January. He led four Eagles in double-digits on the afternoon.

Senior forward Peter Lawal (Uniondale, N.Y./Uniondale) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive glass, and he recorded a pair of blocks, while shooting 7-of-12 from the field. Following today's game, Lawal needs 35 points to become the latest member of the 1,000-point club at Post. It was the 14^th double-digit outing of the season, and the third game this season, in which he has scored 20 or more points.

Junior center Jesse Iyalekhue (Bronx, N.Y./Columbus) and freshman Garvin McAlister (Norwich, Conn./N.F.A.) each added 10 points for the Eagles. Iyalekhue had two blocks, while McAlister had six assists and two steals.

The Eagles opened the game with an 11-4 run, capped by a jumper from McAlister. Then, a dunk by Iyalekhue sparked a 10-1 run for the Eagles to take a 21-10 lead with 8:05 left in the first half. Then a few minutes later, a basket from freshman Spencer Smith (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) sparked a 13-4 run for Post, to take a 39-20 lead with 1:25 left in the first half. The run was capped by a thunderous dunk from Lawal, who was fouled on the play. Post would take a 41-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, with Post leading 48-33, the Eagles received a trey from Reitter and a jumper from McAlister to up the lead to 53-33 with 14:23 left in the contest. But, a 10-0 run by Dominican cut the lead in half to 53-43 with 10:47 remaining.

Dominican cut even further into the lead after a Dato Sakvarelidze jumper made it 61-53 with 3:52 left to play. Iyalekhue was fouled, and he made 1-of-2 free throws, and Brandon Brock cut the lead to seven with a jumper at the 2:55 mark. Reitter drained a long-distance three, to put Post up by 65-55, but a Brock three cut the lead back to seven, at 65-58 with 2:28 left.

Another trey by Reitter gave the Eagles a 10-point cushion at 68-58 with 2:16 left.

Jonathan Guzman made a pair of free throws for Dominican, cutting the lead to 68-60 at the 1:46 mark. Dominican was forced to foul, and the Eagles made seven of their last nine free throw attempts to seal an 80-64 victory.   

Post shot 41.5 percent from the field, knocking down 27-of-65 shots from the field. The Eagles were highly effective in the first half, converting 54.8 percent (17-31) of their field goal attempts. But, the Eagles shot only 21.7 percent (5-23) from three-point range. At the charity stripe the Eagles made 21-of-32 shots for a 65.5 percentage.

The Eagles out rebounded the Chargers 46-35, including a 16-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Post had a 12-5 edge in second chance points, and a 26-16 advantage in points in the paint. The Eagles also scored 12 points off of 13 Dominican turnovers.

Dominican was led by Will Carty with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Sakvarelidze chipped in with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. The Chargers shot 40 percent for the game, connecting on 22-of-55 shots, Post held Dominican to 27.6 percent shooting in the first half, but the Chargers shot 53.8 percent in the second half. The Eagles also held Dominican to 28.6 percent (4-14) from three-point range.

The Eagles return to the hardwood on Wednesday, February 13 for a CACC match up with Bloomfield College. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. at the Drubner Center. The game is also "Think Pink" Night, as both the men's and women's basketball teams will help raise awareness for the fight against Breast Cancer. Fans wearing an article of pink clothing will receive free admission, and S.A.A.C. will be collecting donations for the American Cancer Society.