BOSTON, Mass. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team had a big opening win at the Steve Wright Classic Friday night, beating Northeastern 78-74. After trailing for the majority of the game, LIU battled back to beat the Huskies in the final 90 seconds of the game. The Blackbirds were led by freshmen Jashaun Agosto and Julian Batts, who scored 31 of their combined 33 points in the second half.

Agosto had a huge second half for LIU, opening the stanza by making four-straight three point shots to tie the game up, 47-47 with 14:21 to play. Batts had three treys in the second half as well, including one with 2:12 on the clock that closed the Northeastern lead to just one point, 71-70. Senior Jerome Frink would add another three 45 seconds later, which would give LIU the lead for good, 73-71. Agosto and Batts were also clutch down the home stretch. With 39 seconds left in the game, Agosto had the layup and converted the traditional three-point play to put the Blackbirds up by five, 76-71. Batts, who was fouled with 12 seconds left to play, drained both shots from the charity stripe to ice the victory for LIU, 78-74.

Northeastern led for nearly 90 percent of the game. The Huskies went on a 10-0 run early in the first half that would put the local team up, 12-6. Another 8-0 run by NU would put them up, 20-11 at the 12-minute mark, and the Huskies took a 10-point lead into halftime, 40-30.

A strong start to the second half was quickly curtailed for LIU, when foul trouble put the Huskies on the line early in the stanza. Northeastern would not score a field goal for over nine minutes of the second half, instead scoring 14 points from the free throw line to maintain the lead, 68-65. An NU three would put the Huskies up, 71-65 with 2:46 to play. But over the next two and a half minutes, LIU would go on a 13-3 run to snatch the victory, 78-74.

Up next, the Blackbirds face off with the host Terriers, Sunday, November 20 at 4 p.m.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• LIU scored 48 second half points in the win, including 21 second-chance points.
• The Blackbirds beat the Huskies 19-9 in offensive rebounds.
• Jashaun Agosto had a career-high 20 points, including 18 in the second half. The freshman went 4-for-6 from long distance, and also had a team-high four assists.
• All 13 of Julian Batts' points came in the second half as well, as he went 3-for-4 from behind the arc for a new career high.
• Seniors Jerome Frink and Nura Zanna both had double-doubles for LIU in the win. Frink had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Zanna put up 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Freshman Raiquan Clark had eight points and four rebounds for LIU, all of which were offensive. Senior Iverson Fleming had six points and three steals in the win.