Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Feb. 25, 2009) – Senior playmaker Jonathan Schmidt (Centereach, N.Y.) scored a game-high 28 points to lead second-ranked men's basketball past Dowling College on Wednesday evening, 72-58, and in the process, set a new school record for career points scored with 1,845 career points, surpassing the old record of 1,835 set by Garee Bryant in 1999. 

Prior to the game, the Pioneers recognized their six seniors for their accomplishments over the past four years. The senior class includes Kenny Burkes (Suitland, Md.), Nick Carter (Huntington Station, N.Y.) Aaron Daly (New York, N.Y.) Kellen Scantlebury (East Setauket, N.Y.), Kevin Spann (West Babylon, N.Y.)and Schmidt.

The Pioneers, also ranked first the East Region in the latest NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, improve to 23-0 on the season and 17-0 in the East Coast Conference, while Dowling slips to 11-15 overall and 9-8 in the ECC.

The Pioneers and the Golden Lions played a tight game for the entire first half, with the Pioneers jumping to a 15-11 lead after a Carter trey at 14:21, but Dowling kept the game close and the Pioneers were unable to push their lead any higher then five points. At 9:59, a free throw by John Merchant pulled Dowling to within two points, and Keith Nandin's three-pointer at 9:32 gave the Golden Lions the lead. 

The teams traded buckets and the lead with C.W. Post pulling back ahead by one point only for another Dowling field goal to give the Golden Lions the lead. DC pulled ahead by three with 5:40 remaining in the half, but the Pioneers answered back with a Russell Holloway field goal and a Schmidt three-point basket to take a two point lead. The last four minutes before halftime saw the lead see-saw back and forth before Carter's trey with 1:28 gave the Pioneers a 34-32 lead that they would take into the halftime break.

The Pioneers came out of the half and quickly pushed to their largest lead of the game, 39-32 (18:49), but watch the lead shrink just as quickly as three consecutive Dowling jumpers cut the lead to one point and David Seagers' lay-in at 16:13 gave the Golden Lions the lead. A Sean Smith jumper pushed the DC advantage to three points, 42-39, but a trey by Schmidt tied the game up and the Pioneers regained control with a three-point play by Carter and a jumper by Schmidt at 12:57 that was his record-breaking 1,836th career point. 

Josh Lowe answered with a Dowling jumper by Lyndon Daniel and a fast-break lay-up by Schmidt, followed by Daniel's layup of his own gave the hosts a 6-0 lead. The Lions kept the lead between three and five points as they did not allow the Pioneers to pull away, and Alioune Ndiaye's dunk at 7:10 pulled Dowling to within three. However, the Pioneers went on an 8-0 run to pull away from the Golden Lions, pushing to an 11 points lead (64-53) with 4:13 remaining. The game was not close from that point on as the Pioneers stretched the lead to 15 points at 3:04 and maintained the lead as the rolled to the win.

In addition to Schmidt's 28, the Pioneers also got a strong outing from Carter, who scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win. 

Keith Nandin led Dowling with 15 points, and David Seagers added 13 while Leonard Lans scored 10 for the Golden Lions.

CWP shot 41% from the field (26-63) and 9-26 (34%) from behind the arc. They held a 40-32 advantage in rebounding and outscored Dowling 28-18 in the paint. 

The Pioneers play the final game of their regular season schedule on Saturday as they travel to Adelphi for a 7 p.m. matchup.