Box Score
BROOKLYN - A 10-foot floater in the lane by Robert Morris senior Velton Jones proved to be the difference, as the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball (11-11, 6-4 NEC) team saw its six-game winning streak come to a close in a 60-57 loss to the Colonials (15-8, 7-3 NEC) on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness Center.
Jones hit the game-winner over the outstretched arm of senior Jamal Olasewere to put the visitors up by one with 11 seconds remaining and, after two free throws pushed the margin to three with 2.5 ticks on the clock, a three-pointer from Olasewere at the buzzer went just long to cap a nail-biter that featured nine ties and 18 lead changes.
In a rematch of the last two Northeast Conference Tournament title games, both teams refused to back down over the full 40 minutes. In the first half, the two teams were knotted at 6-6 before a 7-2 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from senior C.J. Garner, pushed LIU out in front 13-8 with 13:52 left in the first half. Consecutive three-balls by RMU swung the lead back to the visitors, 14-13, before five straight from Olasewere put the score at 18-14 close to the midway point of the opening period.
The see-saw affair would continue, as neither team could get much breathing room. A three from junior Jason Brickman briefly gave the Blackbirds a 25-22 edge, but Jones came right back on the next possession with an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the score. Garner registered a layup off a feed from Olasewere at the 3:54 mark to give LIU a 27-25 lead and give him 1,000 points for his LIU Brooklyn career.
Both teams revved up the defense over the final four minutes, as the sides combined for nine points - including seven from the Colonials. A jumper from Jones with three seconds remaining gave RMU a 32-29 lead going into halftime.
Five straight points to begin the second stanza, including a three-point play from senior Brandon Thompson, gave the Blackbirds a 34-32 lead. Robert Morris forward Russell Johnson hit a three-pointer to erase the lead, but Brickman returned the favor on the next possession to put the score at 37-35 with 18:47 left in the second half.
From there, LIU's offense went cold as it hit just one of its ensuing six shot attempts and committed a pair of turnovers during a 14-4 stretch that put the Colonials on top 49-41 with 11:45 remaining. A layup from senior Booker Hucks jumpstarted a 9-2 run over the next 4:34 that pulled the Blackbirds to within one, 51-50. Hucks had all six of his points during that time, while Olasewere added three.
A jumper from Johnson bumped RMU's cushion back to three with 6:44 remaining, before Brickman hit three of his next four free throws to tie the game with 4:10 to go. The junior point guard, who tied Robert Cole's mark for assists in an LIU career with 610, canned two more from the charity stripe to give LIU a two-point lead with just over three minutes left.
Robert Morris came back with a three-pointer from Karvel Anderson, his third and the team's 10th of the contest, to nudge the Colonials on top for a brief time, but 20 seconds later Olasewere hit on a short jumper in the paint to re-establish a one-point lead for the Blackbirds with 2:07 on the clock.
The Colonials had a pair of chances from three-point range on the ensuing possession go astray, and Garner had his three-ball attempt fall short with just under a minute remaining. A contested jumper from Johnson was no good at the other end, but the carom went off the hands of Olasewere and out of bounds to give the Colonials the ball with 16 seconds left.
Out of a timeout, Jones knocked down a runner in the lane with 11 seconds to go and on LIU's possession, Anderson forced a turnover and was fouled with 2.5 to go. After hitting both ends of a one-and-one to put the margin at three, LIU fired an out-of-bounds pass the length of the court to Olasewere, who dribbled left and put up a game-tying try from three as the buzzer sounded to no avail.
Olasewere closed with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Brickman added 19 points in 39 minutes of action. Anderson led a trio of RMU players in double figures with 13 points. Johnson had 12 and Lucky Jones chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Blackbirds return to action on Thursday, Feb. 7 as they take on Central Connecticut in New Britain, Conn.