DURHAM, N.C. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team fell to North Carolina Central Tuesday night at McDougald-McLendon Arena, 79-56. The loss was the second straight for the Blackbirds, in what was their seventh road game in a row. LIU struggled from the field in the loss, shooting just 33.3 percent as a squad.

Turnovers in the first half proved costly for the Blackbirds, as 10 early in the game would lead to 10 NCCU points. The Eagles used a 13-0 run midway through the first half to go up, 22-8 on LIU, and never looked back. Dajuan Graf was a force for the home team in the first stanza, as he went 4-for-4 in 11 minutes of action, including two threes, to put 10 points on the board. He finished the game shooting 75 percent from the field, with 14 points.

The Blackbirds were able to chip away at the lead, and a jumper from freshman Jashaun Agosto, followed by a fast break layup by sophomore Raiquan Clark, helped LIU cut the lead to 10 points, 32-22 with 4:06 left to play in the first stanza. But NCCU would outscore LIU 7-2 in the final minutes of the half, and took a 39-24 lead into the break.

Entering the second half, the Blackbirds were able to whittle the lead back down to 13 points, 45-32 with 15:13 on the clock, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line over a two-minute span. But over the next five minutes, NCCU would go 8-for-9 from the field, to LIU's 3-for-7, and outscored the Blackbirds, 18-8. The run would help the home team take a 23-point lead with just over eight minutes of action left in the game. The buffer was all the Eagles would need, and NCCU eventually took the game win, 79-56.

BLACKBIRD BITS

• Senior Iverson Fleming led LIU with 16 points, while freshman Jashaun Agosto had 11 points in the loss. NCCU forced senior Jerome Frink to struggle with shooting, as he went 2-for-12 from field; six of his 10 pts came from FT line.
• The Blackbirds shot 33.3 percent from the field, including just 1-for-13 from behind the arc.
• LIU had 11 turnovers in the first half, and 19 overall.
• NCCU had three players score in double figures, led by Del'vin Dickerson, who had 23 points, shooting 11-for-17 from the field. Senior Patrick Cole had 18 points and 13 assists, while senior Dajuan Graf had 14 points.
• The Eagles went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the second half.
• Up next, the Blackbirds return to Brooklyn to take on St. John's in the Barclays Center, Sunday, December 11 at 12 p.m.