BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 10, 2015) - Trailing 3-0 at halftime, the LIU Post football team scored 20 unanswered points in the third quarter, en route to pulling out a 27-24 win over Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

The Pioneers (4-2, 3-2 NE-10) wasted no time getting the lead in the latter half, as they scored on their first series. After eight of the first 10 plays were on the ground in the drive, junior quarterback Jeff Kidd (Salem, Ore.) found red-shirt sophomore wide receiver Kyle Ward (Elizabeth, N.J.) on a 21-yard touchdown strike to put the hosts up by a field goal.

LIU Post then picked off a Nick Davis (Oxnard, Calif.) pass on the ensuing series to set the stage for another scoring possession. Starting inside the Merrimack (2-4, 2-3 NE-10) 35-yard line, Kidd led a seven-play, 32-yard drive that resulted in a five-yard hook-up with junior running back David White (Bronx, N.Y.), making it a 13-3 contest.

The 20-point run by the green and gold was capped on their next drive. This time, red-shirt freshman running back Malik Pierre (Holbrook, N.Y.) evaded a defender and ran the ball 29 yards into the end zone to extend LIU Post's advantage to 20-3.

The Warriors fought back though and twice closed the gap to a one-possession game. Late in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers, still leading 27-24, came away with two defensive stops to seal the victory.

Red-shirt junior defensive back Kareem Folkes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) first intercepted a Davis pass with 1:36 remaining, while a potential game-tying 51-yard field-goal attempt from Stephen Camarro (North Reading, Mass.) came up short as time expired.

For the game, Pierre carried the ball 20 times for 96 yards and one touchdown. Ward and red-shirt junior wide receiver Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) each caught a touchdown pass. Both wideouts had two receptions, as well.

Defensively, red-shirt junior linebacker Wayne Harris (Jamaica, N.Y.) paced LIU Post with 10 tackles (four solo, six assist). Red-shirt senior linebacker Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) had eight tackles (one solio, seven assist). Folkes, senior defensive lineman James Athan (Franklin Square, N.Y.) and sophomore defensive lineman Kevin Petit-Frere (Amityville, N.Y.) recorded seven tackles apiece.

Head Coach Bryan Collins and the Pioneers return to action next Saturday (Oct. 17), when they travel to Pleasantville to square off with NE-10 foe Pace University. Kickoff is slated for noon.