Flushing, NY - Jonathan Schmidt tallied a game high 22 points and Brandon Butler added 20 leading the top seeded C.W. Post men's basketball team past fourth seeded Saint Thomas Aquinas, 82-65 in the semifinals of the ECC Championships at the Fitzgerald Center on the campus of Queens College Saturday.
Kevin Spann added 14 points as the Pioneers (25-4), ranked 24th in the latest NABC Division II national poll, moved on to the championship game Sunday where they will face second seeded Adelphi, 66-62 winners over No. 6 Concordia in the second semifinal.
The Pioneers will be seeking their fourth tournament title overall and first since 2001.
The championship tips off at 3:00 p.m.
Chris Williams led the Spartans (17-12) with 11 points, Akeem Comas added 10 and Ra Chase, Jelani Winfield and Terrance Portis each notched nine.
The Spartans blistered in the opening minutes of the game, streaking out to an 11-0 lead and lead by as many as 12 over the first 15 minutes.
Trailing by 10 at 38-28 with 1:32 to go in the first, C.W. Post rallied with a 9-1 run over the final 1:24 including a Spann layup as time expired to cut the lead to two - 39-37 - at the break.
A Butler three pointer put C.W. Post ahead for good with 18:48 to play as the Pioneers took control over the opening nine and a half minutes of the second, limiting the Spartans to six points over that stretch to build an 11-point lead.
Comas knocked down two free throws and Winfield followed with a three to bring the Spartans to within 59-52 with 8:05 to go, but Scantlebury answered with a layup sparking a quick 6-0 spurt to rebuilt the lead to 13 and C.W. Post allowed the Spartans no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Wesley Matthews and Kellen Scantlebury also chipped in with nine
points each for C.W. Post.