SPARKILL, N.Y. (Dec. 19, 2015) - Junior forward Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) scored a team-high 21 points Saturday to lift the LIU Post men's basketball team to a 75-66 win versus East Coast Conference rival St. Thomas Aquinas College at Aquinas Hall.

The Pioneers (9-2, 4-0 ECC) shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the floor. They also outrebounded the Spartans (6-4, 2-2 ECC), 38-37, in the contest.

LIU Post got out to a hot start, opening the game on a 10-2 run in the first 4:16. Dotson and senior guard Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) accounted for nine of the team's 10 points in the burst.

The visitors held as much as a 12-point advantage (23-11) in the first half on a trey by junior guard Bryant Webb (Parlin, N.J.), but LIU Post trailed 41-35 at the break.

The Pioneers came storming out of the gate again in the latter stanza, kicking off the half on a 19-2 streak. That put the green and gold back in front by double digits (54-43) at the 14:18 mark.

Senior guard Devon McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and junior guard Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) combined for 12 points in the run. Senior forward Michael Phillip (Brooklyn, N.Y.) got it started with a converted three-point play.

However, STAC rallied again and owned a slight one-point edge (64-63) on a Shaquille McFarlan (Mesic, N.C.) three-point play with 4:55 to play in regulation.

LIU Post would not be denied its fifth-straight win though, as the Pioneers closed out the game on a 12-2 spurt to secure the victory. A Dotson dunk gave the green and gold the lead for good. Burns added four key makes from the foul line down the stretch.

In addition to his 21-point effort, Dotson accumulated six rebounds and three steals. Hall racked up 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Burns collected 10 points, four assists, three boards and two steals. Phillip crashed the glass for six rebounds and rejected two blocks. Junior forward Barrington Alston (Wilmington, Del.) and red-shirt sophomore guard Aary Bibens (Bennington, Vt.) had five points and two rebounds apiece.

Head Coach Erik Smiles and the Pioneers are back in action next Wednesday (Dec. 30), when they host Merrimack College in a non-conference tilt at the Pratt Recreation Center at 3 p.m.