Courtesy St. Michael’s Athletics

COLCHESTER – The Saint Michael’s College men’s basketball team put together a 19-0 run in the second half to overcome Post University, 80-71, during Tuesday’s non-conference matchup at the Ross Sports Center.

RECORDS
· Saint Michael’s (4-7), Post (2-9)

SAINT MICHAEL’S LEADERS
· Senior Levi Holmes III (East Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers Prep), 33 points, 9 rebounds, 9-of-17 field goals, 5-for-10 three-pointers, 10-for-10 free throws
· Senior Derek Cheatom (Buffalo, N.Y./The Park School of Buffalo), 13 points
· Sophomore Jason Heter (Andover, N.J./Newton), 8 points, 7 rebounds
· Senior Winston Jones II (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central), 7 points, 9 rebounds, 5 offensive rebounds
· Junior Eli DiGrande (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), 7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 offensive rebounds
· First-year Jontai Williams (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes), 7 points, 3 assists, 3-for-5 field goals
· Junior Jordan Guzman (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian), 12 rebounds (career high), 5 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS
· Junior Tyshon Rogers, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 8-for-10 free throws
· First-year D.J. Frechette, 13 points, 5-for-10 field goals
· Senior Darryl Stewart, 11 points, 4-for-7 field goals
· First-year Abdul-Basit Ajia, 6 blocks

GAME FACTS
· The Purple Knights are 3-0 against Post all-time.
· This was the final home game of the first semester for the Purple Knights.
· The Purple Knights held a 51-31 advantage in rebounding, including 19-7 on the offensive glass, which translated into a 14-7 edge in second-chance points. The Purple and Gold also outscored the Eagles, 36-26, in the paint while shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-for-16) and 15-for-17 from the free throw line.
· Holmes’ five three-pointers pushed his career total to 229, tying Mark Fizulich ’97 for fourth in program history. Holmes also went 10-for-10 from the free throw line, tying the school record in free-throw percentage in a game with a minimum of 10 makes. He is the seventh Purple Knight to achieve this feat.
· This was Holmes’ seventh career 30-point performance.

THE ACTION
· No team led by more than seven points in the first half until Williams hit a three-pointer and sophomore Walker Storey (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) put home a breakaway dunk on the ensuing possession to put the Purple Knights up 26-16 with 9:09 remaining.
· The Eagles later went on an 11-4 run with junior D.J. Jarrett hitting two three-pointers to make it a 32-29 game with 5:33 remaining. The Purple Knights went into the half with a 40-36 advantage.
· The Eagles took their first lead since the 16:31 in the first half when Stewart made both free throws to put Post up 45-44 at the 16:12 mark in the second half. First-year Isaiah Holmes then hit a lay-up to extend the visitor’s’ lead to three.
· The Purple and Gold then went on a 19-0 run, with Heter scoring all eight of his points and Holmes hitting two threes to put the Purple Knights up by 16, the largest lead of the game, with 7:37 left. Heter scored the final six points of the run.
· The Eagles rallied within six with 2:54 remaining as Frechette tossed in a lay-up to make it 69-63.
· From there the Purple Knights led by no less than seven as Holmes went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:19 to clinch the game.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL’S GAME
· Dec. 29 at Daemen (N.Y.) College, 1 p.m.
· The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the latest D2SIDA East Region Media Poll