Men's Basketball Loses to Saint Anselm in Overtime, 87-81

1/21/2017 8:16:00 PM

Box Score

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Jan. 21, 2017) - On Saturday, the LIU Post men's basketball suffered a tough 87-81 overtime defeat to Saint Anselm College in a non-conference tilt at the Pratt Recreation Center.

Leading 42-40 early in the second half, the Pioneers (5-14) reeled off an 18-7 run in a six-minute stretch to take their largest lead (60-47) of the contest with 11:22 left. Senior forward Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) collected five points to pace the hosts in the burst. Junior forward Hunter Powell (Tustin, Mich.) capped it off with back-to-back baskets.

However, the Hawks (10-6), who trailed 73-62 with just under five minutes left in regulation, came all the way back to grab a 77-76 advantage at the one-minute mark, via a 15-3 spurt.

The green and gold still had a chance to win the game though, as red-shirt junior guard Aary Bibens (Bennington, Vt.) drew a shooting foul in the final seconds. He then made 1-of-2 attempts from the stripe to even the score and force overtime.

In the extra session, Saint Anselm jumped out to an 82-77 cushion, after a Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) lay-up and Taylor Fortin (Tolland, Conn.) three-pointer.

The Hawks also held the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the first 3:29 of overtime, en route to securing the comeback victory.

For the game, LIU Post shot 44.8 percent (30-of-67) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free-throw line.

Dotson finished with a season-high 26 points, while adding nine rebounds and four blocks. Senior guard Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) recorded 13 points and 10 assists for a double-double. Bibens and junior guard Kyle McLeggan (Jersey City, N.J.) each added 10 points. Freshman guard Jared Rivers (Westbury, N.Y.) had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Powell registered seven points and seven rebounds.

Head Coach Erik Smiles and the Pioneers are back in action Wednesday (Jan. 25), when they open a three-game road trip in Amherst at East Coast Conference rival Daemen College. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.