Brookville, NY| The LIU Post men's basketball team opened its 2017-18 East Coast Conference campaign with a 97-70 loss to the University of Bridgeport inside the Pratt Recreation Center on Wednesday night.
With the loss, the Pioneers slide to 2-6 on the year, while the Purple Knights improve to 7-1.
Bridgeport jumped out to an early lead as LIU Post struggled to find its rhythm in the first half. The Purple Knights advantages of 16-6, 32-14, and 40-17 before taking a 47-24 edge into the break. LIU Post shot just 34.6% from the field in the opening frame.
Aary Bibens netted the second half's first basket to cut the lead to 21 (47-26), but the Purple Knight maintained their double-digit lead throughout the period and led by as many as 40 points (77-37), before clinching the 97-70 victory.
Senior Kyle McLeggan led LIU Post with 19 points on 6-9 shooting from the field. Bibens dropped 14 points and collected two assists.
Richard Altenord tallied his season-first double-double contributing with 10 points, and ten rebounds and sophomore Jared Rivers collected eight points.
The Pioneers will continue conference play on Saturday, Dec. 9 when they take on Mercy College away at 3 PM. Watch the game live here.