BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team struggled in their return to the Steinberg Wellness Center Sunday afternoon, dropping an 82-68 decision to Dartmouth. The win was the first of the season for the Big Green (1-9), while the Blackbirds fall to 7-5. LIU struggled offensively, shooting 36.7 percent from the field in the first half, 20 percent from long range all day, and 45.5 percent from the free throw line.
 
Dartmouth junior guard Miles Wright, who scored 39 against the Blackbirds last season, led all scorers once again, with a game-high 25 points, hitting 10-of-17 from the floor, including five threes.
 
LIU had the early lead in the game, using a layup from senior Jerome Frink to take the 9-7 advantage five minutes into play. Dartmouth answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead, 14-9, and the Big Green, hungry for a win, never looked back. The Blackbirds would use six points from Frink, Jashaun Agosto and Julius van Sauers to tie it up, 17-17, but Dartmouth would drain one of their 11 three pointers to retake control.  Freshman Julian Batts would help cut the lead back down to four, as he had a steal and the fast break layup as the clock expired, giving Dartmouth the 31-27 advantage at the half.
 
A jumper early in the second half by Agosto would cut the gap even further, 33-31 at 18:49, but the Big Green answered with a 7-0 run. Dartmouth would score seven unanswered points over a two minute spread to take the lead, 40-31. The visitors would continue to widen the game, as the next three baskets for the Big Green were all threes, and the lead grew to 12 points, 49-37.
 
As LIU got into foul trouble late in the game, Dartmouth would convert nearly all of its free throws. The Big Green went 23-for-30 from the charity stripe, including two at the 4:23 mark that would give them their biggest lead of the day, 74-54. The Blackbirds finished the game on a strong note, going on an 8-3 run, including a three pointer from freshman Ashtyn Bradley, but it would not be enough, and Dartmouth took the win, 82-68.
 
BLACKBIRD BITS
- Senior Jerome Frink led LIU, scoring 22 points, along with a game-high three blocks.
- Senior Nura Zanna had his third-straight double-double, with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and a career-high 16 rebounds.
- Senior Iverson Fleming chipped in 12 points in the loss.
- The Big Green had four players in double figures, led by Wright with 25.. Guilien Smith (14), Brendan Barry (14), and Ike Ngwudo (11).
- LIU held Dartmouth's leading scoring, Evan Bodreaux, to just seven points, all of which came in the second half.  
- Up next, the Blackbirds host Niagara at the Barclays Center, Wednesday, December 21 at 7:30 p.m.