Men's Basketball Tops Queens in OT 73-67, Advances to ECC Final
Box Score
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (March 5, 2010) – The C.W. Post men's basketball team put forth a solid offensive effort, and pulled out an overtime victory over Queens College in the East Coast Conference championships semifinal game on Saturday evening in Hubbell Gym.
C.W. Post improves to 20-9 overall while Queens now stands at 20-8.
Junior guard Stefan Bonneau (Middletown, N.Y.) led the way for the Pioneers with 21 points on 6-13 shooting, sinking four treys . Junior guard Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.) added 13 points and six assists, while senior forward Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.) registered a double-double with 11 rebounds and 12 points. Freshman forward Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) added 11 points, while senior guard Gil Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points and nine assists.
C.W. Post took an early lead in the first half as they pulled out to a double-digit advantage , up by 11 points (26-15 with 6:58 to play). The Pioneers extended to a 15-point advantage with 2:57 remaining before Queens closed out the half with a 9-0 run to draw to within six prior to the break, 34-28.
Undaunted, C.W. Post pushed out to yet another double digit lead in the second half leading by as many as 14 points (49-35) with 13:33 to play. But Queens answered back yet again, embarking on a 23-8 run that allowed the Knights to come all the way back and take a one-point lead, 59-58, with 2:57 remaining in the game. The Pioneers tied the contest and pulled ahead as Bonneau hit two free throws, but QC's Terrell Simmons hit two FT's of his own to regain the lead. Allen hit one-of-two from the stripe with 27 seconds remaining to tie the game at 61-61, and Queens' three-point attempt was off the mark as time expired, forcing the overtime period.
In OT, Hall's jumper put the Pioneers on top early, but Queens answered back tying the score at 63-63. The Pioneers pulled ahead again on a Hall layup, but Anderson Labase's two FT's tied the contest again. But Butler's layup with 1:33 to play put the Pioneers up by two, and Bonneau, Hall and Montalvo all went 2-2 from the free throw line to seal the win and put the Pioneers in the ECC Championship Final for the fourth straight season.
C.W. Post held a slim 39-38 advantage on the boards, and had an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers on the evening compared to only 10 for Queens. However, CWP shots 52% from the floor (26-50) compared to only 34.7% for Queens (25-72). The Pioneers also were much more efficient from long range, shooting 8-15 compared to an unsightly 3-24 mark for the Knights.
QC was led by Labase's 22-point night. Lamonte Lans chipped in with 13 points and Khalil McDonald added 11 points to the effort.
Second-seeded C.W. Pos t will take on top-seeded host Bridgeport in the ECC Final tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.