BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – A scorching stretch of three-point shooting in the second half sparked a run that the LIU Post men's basketball team could not overcome, as the fourth-seeded Pioneers came up just short to fifth seed Molloy College, 71-66 in the ECC Championship First Round at the Pratt Recreation Center Feb. 28.
 
With the win, Molloy advances to Saturday's semifinal round at the Voller Athletic Center on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College to take on number one seed University of Bridgeport.
 
The Pioneers opened the game on a tear, jumping out to a 20-4 lead during the opening seven minutes behind an 8-of-13 start shooting with five different scorers. Despite going 2-for-12 to begin the contest, Molloy settled in midway through the half, making it a two-possession game when Mike Torre's layup capped off an 18-8 burst with 4:53 remaining. The Pioneers ended an 0-for-5 shooting drought when senior Kyle Taylor-McLeggan drilled a three-point basket to spark an 8-0 run for the Green and Gold to extend the lead back to 14 points (36-22). The Pioneers went scoreless for the final three minutes, however, and Molloy's Justin Caldwell netted an off-balance tip-in as time expired to make it 36-28 at the halftime break. 
 
LIU Post finished the half 7-of-15 from beyond the arc, while Molloy went 0-for-13 from long range, allowing the Pioneers to lead for the entirety of the period. 
 
Sophomore Jared Rivers opened the second-half scoring with a pull-up jumper during the first minute, but Molloy countered with four unanswered points by Torre to make it a two-possession game once again at the 17:11 mark. After starting 0-for-15 from beyond the arc, the Lions made their first triple of the evening, and took advantage of back-to-back offensive fouls by the Pioneers to make it a four-point game (42-38) just past the first media timeout of the second half. 
 
Nick Corbett drilled consecutive triples to level the scoring at 46-46, and after senior Hunter Powell netted three points, Corbett put home another from long range to make it 51-51 with 7:54 remaining. Out of a media timeout, Corbett continued to have the hot hand and drilled another three-pointer on the fast break to Molloy its first lead of the evening, 54-51. Trailing by two, the Pioneers ended an eight-minute three-point hiatus when McLeggan knocked down a jumper from long range to give the Green and Gold a 58-57 lead. Rivers made it a three-point lead at the final media timeout after splitting through the lane and putting home an acrobatic layup.
 
Molloy stormed back, however, scoring 11 of the next 12 points out of the timeout to take a 68-61 lead. The Pioneers cut it down to a three-point deficit with seven seconds remaining, but Torre hit two free throws on the following possession to seal the victory for the Lions.
 
Bibens led the Pioneers with his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points while hauling in 13 rebounds. McLeggan and Rivers added 13 points each, and sophomore Kyle Doucette ripped down 11 rebounds. Torre led Molloy with 20 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the free throw line, while Corbett and Curtis Jenkins chipped in 16 points with a combined six three-pointers.