BROOKLYN, N.Y. – After a month on the road, the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team returned home to the borough of Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, and the homecoming was a sweet one, as the Blackbirds (7-3) beat New York City rival St. John's (5-6) at the Barclays Center, 74-73.

Seniors Iverson Fleming and Jerome Frink led the Blackbirds to the win. Fleming led all scorers with 21 points, while Frink had 20 points and 12 rebounds, on 7-of-15 shooting. Redshirt junior Nura Zanna also had a big game for the Blackbirds, with 13 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, including one as the clock expired to stop St. John's last-second shot.

LIU opened the game firing on all cylinders. The Blackbirds struck first on a jumper from Frink, and would make seven of their first eight shots from the floor, leaping out to an 18-8 lead just six minutes into the game. LIU led from there, but foul trouble plagued the Blackbirds. St. John's went 6–for-6 from the charity stripe over a two-minute period, close the gap to just two points, 21-19 at 11:53. Three minutes later, the Red Storm went on their first real run of the game, holding LIU scoreless for almost four minutes, and going 10-0 to take the lead, 29-26 with 6:51 on the clock.

Sophomore Raiquan Clark converted a traditional three-point play to give the Blackbirds the lead once more, 32-31 with 4:36 to go. The two teams traded points from there, and went into the halftime break knotted up, 42-42.

Five minutes into the second half, the Johnnies would go on a 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the game, 58-51 with 13:27 to play. Frink would cut the momentum short with a three pointer that sparked a 9-0 run for the Blackbirds, and the home team was up once more, 60-58 with 8:52 to go.

For the next four minutes, the two teams traded baskets, and neither team would lead by more than a couple of points. The Red Storm took a four-point lead with 1:34 on the clock with a three pointer from Federico Mussini, but the visitors would fail to score over the last minute and a half of action. Fleming would score the final five points of the game for LIU, hitting a three pointer at 1:24 to cut the gap to just one point, 73-72. And with 26 seconds on the clock, the senior had a jumper on the baseline that would put LIU on top, 74-73.

"It's a mindset and our coach preaches to us to have 'the will to win.,'" Fleming said in the post-game press conference. "That's what I try to do every day I step on the court: have a will to win, and to help my teammates as best as I can. At that point in time, I was just trying to be aggressive and get the best shot possible, and it fell."

Senior Nura Zanna had two big defensive stops in the final 11 seconds to help LIU clinch the win: two steals sucked St. John's momentum, and the jumper with two ticks left on the clock was no good, with the Blackbirds taking the one-point win.

"I give all the credit to LIU." St. John's head coach Chris Mullin said after the game. "They took it to us from the start. They led 18-7, and pretty much controlled the whole game. Even when we had a seven-point lead, we got sloppy again and didn't take care of the ball. We're not sharp. No one knows better than us that when you do that, you get smacked. We got smacked."

The win by LIU snapped a three-game winning streak for the Johnnies, and was the first win for LIU over St. John's since 1996. It was also only the fourth time LIU has beaten St. John's since the two teams started playing in 1931. The Red Storm had won the last five meetings between the two teams, dating back to 2006.

"It's such a huge win," LIU head coach Jack Perri said after the game. "It definitely puts us in a place we want to be. I'm trying to get these guys to understand that this is their last chance to create a legacy for themselves. It's been a while since we went to the NCAA tournament, and these guys have a chance to do something special if they really focus, and appreciate every single day, and a game like this, obviously you feel some gratification from it. I think this will help these guys understand that this is why we prepare every single day, why I'm preaching that your preparation is so important every single day. When we talk about 'the will to win,' we talk about winning every possession and to get that competitive edge. It's a great win for our program."
 
BLACKBIRD BITS

• The Blackbirds had four players score in double figures, led by Iverson Fleming, with 21 points in 40 minutes of action.
• Senior Jerome Frink had his third double-double of the season, with 20 points and 12 boards. The forward shot 7-of-15 from the field, and also had three assists.
• Nura Zanna also had his third double-double of the year, with 13 points and 11 rebounds, along with a game-high four steals.
• Freshman Jashaun Agosto went 4-for-9 from the field to add ten points.
• Sophomore Raiquan Clark added seven points and three blocks for the Blackbirds.
• LIU took only 12 three pointers in the game, compared to 22 from SJU. But the Blackbirds converted, making six of the 12, for a 50 percent accuracy from downtown.
• Up next, the Blackbirds hit the road once more. LIU will head to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to take on the Gophers of the University of Minnesota, Wednesday, December 14 at 8 p.m.