Wilmington, Del. - On Friday, the LIU Post men's basketball team suffered a 63-54 defeat to University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in its 2017-18 season opener inside the WU Athletics Complex.
The loss ensures the Pioneers start the season with a 0-1 record as the Devils move to 1-0 with the win.
Tight in the early-going, the score was tied 5-5 but it was USciences that began to pull away building a seven-point lead (20-13) 11:35 into the game.
A 7-0 run by the Devils gave USciences the largest lead of the night (14 points), 27-13, but the Pioneers closed the gap by six (31-25) before a Devil basket closed the half with the Pioneers trailing 33-25.
With USciences up 41-30 with 15:07 to play in the second, a 7-0 run from LIU Post cut the deficit to four points (41-37) but it would be the closest the Pioneers got to catching the Devils as they eventually fell by the score of 63-54.
Freshman Alonzo Ortiz-Traylor led LIU Post with 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field in his collegiate debut. The guard also led the game in rebounds (13) for his first career double-double.
Sophomore Tracy Cleckley contributed with 11 points (4-10 FG) and sophomore Jared Rivers collected nine points.
Head Coach Erik Smiles and the Pioneers are back in action Saturday (Nov. 11), when they face Wilmington University at 4 p.m. in the Wilmington Tip-Off Classic at the WU Athletics Complex. Follow and watch live here.