Men's Basketball

February 13, 2008

WATERBURY, Conn.-Junior forward AJ Reitter (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) scored a game-high 21 points, to help lift the Post University men's basketball team to an 82-71 win over Bloomfield College, Wednesday evening at the Drubner Center.

The Eagles have won five of their last six games, including three straight to improve to 13-11 overall and 10-4 in the CACC. Post remains atop the CACC North Division, following the season sweep of Bloomfield this evening. Post beat the Deacons 86-81 in overtime on January 29.

Bloomfield falls to 14-13 overall and 5-8 in the CACC. The Deacons remain tied with Nyack for the final playoff spot in the North Division.

Reitter, who was named Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Week on Monday, grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists, had two blocks, and a pair of assists, in 33 minutes for the Eagles. In addition, he inches closer to the 1,000-point plateau in his career. The 6-foot-5 junior has 936 points, and needs to average 21.3 points over the final three games of the regular season to reach the milestone.

Freshman guard Garvin McAlister (Norwich, Conn./N.F.A.) poured in a career-high 20 points, as Post had three scorers in double figures. McAlister shot 6-of-8 from the field, while knocking down a season-high five three-pointers. He also had four rebounds, five assists, a block, and three steals on the night.

Senior forward Peter Lawal (Uniondale, N.Y./Uniondale) had 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Eagles. Lawal, grabbed six rebounds, and went 5-of-9 from the free throw stripe. Like Reitter, he is closing in on the 1,000-point plateau, and following this evening's game, needs 18 points, to become the second Eagle to reach the milestone this season.

Post struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 28.9 percent (11-38) from the field, but came on strong in the second half, shooting 53.3 percent (16-30), to finish the evening shooting 39.7 percent (27-68) from the field. The Eagles forced the Deacons into 25 turnovers on 15 steals, while scoring 27 points off of Bloomfield miscues.

However, Bloomfield held a 45-40 edge on the glass and a 14-12 margin on the offensive boards. Post out-scored Bloomfield 16-12 in second chance points, and held it to 25 percent shooting from three-point range.

Post also allowed Bloomfield to shot 40 percent (24-60) from the field, while keeping with its CACC leading 40.2 field goal percentage defense rating. The Eagles are also ranked 23^rd in the latest NCAA Division II statistical rankings.

The Deacons were led by Namdi Ahaneku, who had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds. Roahn Sheppard added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Gage Daye had 12 points, including three three-pointers.

Tonight's game was also "Think Pink" Night, as both the men's and women's basketball teams helped raise funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. Players on both teams wore special "Think Pink" shirts in warm-ups, and the coaching and athletic staff wore pink shirts as well.

Post returns to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon, as they host Wilmington College for a 3 p.m. conference game. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. following the Post-Wilmington women's game at 1 p.m.