SPARKILL, N.Y. – 32 points by sophomore Jared Rivers was not enough to lead the LIU Post men's basketball team past St. Thomas Aquinas in a high-scoring road affair Saturday, as the Pioneers fell 103-93 Jan. 20.
 
With the loss, the Pioneers slip to 7-12 overall on the season, and 5-4 in ECC play while the Spartans improve to 16-4 and 7-1 in conference play.
 
Rivers found the shooter's touch during the bout with the Spartans, finishing 11-of-17 from the field, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. The local product also added seven rebounds and four assists to his stat line in the loss. Freshman Darien Jenkins netted 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while seniors Kyle Taylor-McLeggan and Aary Bibens chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Justin Reyes led the Spartans with a game-high 35-pont effort.
 
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field, but the Spartans held a significant 43-26 edge on the glass, leading to a 21-16 advantage in second chance points.
 
It was a tightly contested first half, with STAC leading by as many as seven points (29-22) just past the midway point of the opening stanza. The Pioneers chipped away at the deficit before the halftime buzzer however, briefly taking a 44-43 lead on a Rivers three-point bucket with three minutes remaining. The Spartans responded with a 10-1 burst to end the half however, and took a 53-45 advantage into the locker room.
 
STAC pulled away to begin the second half, taking a 70-55 lead five minutes into the period, but the lead would not last for long. A 10-2 run by the Green and Gold made it a seven-point game with 12 minutes remaining. After trading buckets, Rivers knocked down a jumper and a three-pointer before setting up freshman Austin Kennedy for a triple to make it 76-75 with 9:25 to play.
 
The run continued when McLeggan knocked down a three-point basket to make it an 11-0 run and give LIU Post a 78-76 lead, its largest lead of the contest. The lead only lasted 17 seconds however, as Reyes responded with a three-pointer of his own to give STAC a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Spartans proved to be too much down the stretch, as the home squad pulled away and held on for the 10-point victory.
 
LIU Post returns to action in a week when they make the trip to neighboring New York Institute of Technology for the second edition of the "Battle of the Boulevard" this season on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3:30 p.m.