BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (January 18, 2011) – The battle that stretches no more than a mile between NYIT and C.W. Post will take place once again during a doubleheader basketball match up Wednesday, January 19,. The Pioneers will travel to the NYIT campus after both teams defeated the Bears earlier in the season.

 

Coming off a disappointing loss to Dowling on Saturday, the Pioneers women's team is looking to get back on the winning track. During the 44-59 loss to Dowling, no Pioneer player reached double digits in scoring as the team only shot 25 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Ashley Caggiano (Holtsville, N.Y.) led the Pioneers with her eight points. Junior Felicia Joyner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and sophomore Nicole Marciniak (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each contributed seven points and seven rebounds. 

 

C.W. Post leading scorer Janea Aiken (St. Albans, N.Y.) only managed six points in the effort, dropping her average to 16.6 points a game, which is fourth in the conference. Aiken is still however leading the team in assists (47) and steals (23).  Senior forward Alyssa Lombardi (New Fairfield, Conn.) continues to be a force on the glass, as she kept her average at 8.1 rebounds a game, fourth in the conference, with eight rebounds in Saturday's loss. 

 

Junior wing player, Cierra Baker, as been a threat both in scoring and rebounding for the Bears of NYIT with her first ranked 12.1 rebounds a game along with being third in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Baker has also been finding open teammates on the court, contributing 2.64 assists per game to her already stellar stat sheet. The junior was awarded ECC Player of the Week for the second week of the season.

 

Baker and the Bears have struggled to pull out wins recently, dropping five of the last six games played. They now stand at 2-7 in the ECC, with a 4-10 overall record. Despite the struggles, some Bears players of been putting forth solid games. Senior post player Alexis Tyson is the only other Bear to join Baker in averaging double-figure points with 12.4 a game. Sophomore guard Rebecca Lynch has been a pest on the defensive side, averaging 2.54 steals a game, third in the conference. Also, one time ECC Rookie of the Week, Alexandra Venuto, has been a threat from the outside, knocking down 2.36, threes a game. 

 

In the December 8^th match-up between the two, C.W. Post just edged out NYIT with a 59-57 victory at the Pratt Center. Freshman guard Kenyatta Sears (Hampton, Va.) knocked down two free throws with the score tied at 57 to give the Pioneers the final margin after she was fouled by Baker, giving her the free throw opportunities. Then Baker turned the ball over on the last possession for the Bears, as Marciniak forced the ball out of Baker's hands with a steal. 

 

Baker did lead the Bears throughout the game, putting down 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double, while also contributing five assists in 36 minutes played. Aiken led the Pioneers with 17 points and five assists. The senior also contributed four of the teams 12 steals on the day. Joyner tallied four steals as well during the game, along with 12 points. 

 

Both teams will be looking to rebound from losses with a victory Wednesday night. The game certainly seems to be a tight contest after the last time out.

 

The second game of the doubleheader will feature the red, hot C.W. Post men's team that is currently riding a six-game win streak. The Pioneers are now in a three way tie for first place in the ECC with Queens and Bridgeport, as each team stands at 7-2 in the conference. C.W. Post is also 10-6 overall and improved to 7-0 at home this season after defeating Dowling this past Saturday, 80-70.

 

Junior guard Stefan Bonneau (Middletown, N.Y.) once again led the Pioneers in scoring during the victory against Dowling, as he poured in 30 points on the afternoon. That was the second time this year that Bonneau has reached 30 points in a game. Jonathan Kohler (Bordentown, N.J.) registered a double-double to help secure the victory, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds, along with three blocks. 

 

C.W. Post also enjoyed a 3-0 week during conference play last week, led by recently named Player of the Week Aaron Hall (Syracuse, N.Y.). Hall averaged 20 points per game and seven rebounds during the week for the Pioneers, shooting 59.5 percent from the field. 

 

Hall now moves to 15.3 points per game, third in the conference, and helps the Pioneers hold two of the top three individual scoring averages in the conference, with Bonneau holding the top spot with his 18 points per game. Bonneau is also leading the conference shooting 91.7 percent from the charity stripe. Bonneau is also among the leaders in the conference shooting from downtown, hitting 2.6, threes a game and making 41.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. 

 

Kohler is also a top five conference leader with his fourth best 6.5 rebounds a game, while adding 11.9 points per game. Senior guard Gilbert Montalvo (Astoria, N.Y.) has been continuing to play well on both the offensive and defensive side of the court. Montalvo has run Coach Chris Casey's offense well, averaging a conference best 5.31 assists per game. The senior's assist numbers have helped push his assist to turnover ratio to 2.93, also best in the conference. His own offense has been catching on of late as well, shooting 42.1 percent from three point range. Many opportunities for the Pioneers have been created off his force turnovers as well, as he has come up with 2.31 steals a game. 

 

The men's team for NYIT has fallen into a not so favorable trend, as the Bears have gone back and forth between win and loss for the past eight games, with the latest being a loss to Queens this past Saturday. The Bears sit at 4-5 in the ECC, 6-7 overall. 

 

Senior Jerrell Walker has been the leading offensive threat for NYIT, putting in 14.2 points a game along with grabbing 6.3 rebounds a game. The forward is also shooting a second best in the conference field goal percentage, going 53.3 percent from the field. Walker was able to earn ECC Player of the Week honors during the third week of the season. 

 

Walker has been helped out on the scoring end by fellow top ten scorer, Kayvon Roberts. Roberts his averaging an eighth best 13.0 points per game. The Bears have also been a threat from beyond the arc, with senior Carl Kindborg shooting 42.9 percent on three point attempts and Jahari McKnight knocking down 2.31, threes a game. 

 

The last time these two teams met, Post used 60 points in the second half to run past NYIT. During the first half, the bears held a lead as large as 18 with a little over five minutes left and led at halftime 39-28. The Pioneers then started the second half with a 30-7 run, and outscoring the Bears 60-36 during the final frame. Bonneau paced the Pioneers with 24 points, going 4-6 on three point field goals. Kohler contributed 19 points and nine rebounds. NYIT was led by Walker's 16 points and 10 rebounds, with Kindborg also scoring 16. C.W. Post held the turnover margin, only committing six and forcing 14 on the Bears, which led to 20 points. 

 

C.W. Post will look to keep pace at top of the ECC standings Wednesday night, with NYIT looking to pull off the upset and bring down the Pioneers.

 

The women's match up will get underway around 5:00 on Wednesday on the campus of NYIT, with the men to follow with at seven o'clock.