Saint Michael's Men's Basketball Opens Season With 93-82 Loss To C.W. Post

EASTON, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team opened the 2010-11 season on Friday with a 93-82 loss to C.W. Post at the Stonehill College Tip-Off Classic.

The contest marked the debut of Michael Harding as Saint Michael's head coach.

Sophomore Travis Warech (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville) netted a game-high 28 points in the loss, making 12-of-18 shots from the field. Freshman Michael Holton, Jr. (Portland, Ore./Sunset/The Winchendon School) added 17 points in his collegiate debut, while senior Nate Birr (Burnsville, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy) recorded 11 points. Junior Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) chipped in with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

For C.W. Post, Stefan Bonneau scored 27 points, making all eight free throws. Vaughn Allen added 18 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, while Tobin Carberry notched 17 points.

Both teams shot well in the contest, with Saint Michael's making 53 percent of its field goal attempts, and C.W. Post 52 percent. Both teams were also strong from beyond the arc (SMC 7-13, C.W. Post 8-22), but the difference was at the foul line, as the Pioneers made 21-27 free throws, compared to just 9-11 for the Purple Knights.

Saint Michael's completes play at the tournament on Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest versus Caldwell College.