BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Sophomore Martin Hermannsson scored a team-high 21 points and junior Jerome Frink narrowly missed his third straight double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds as the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team used a total team effort to defeat Mount St. Mary's, 77-74, on Thursday evening at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

Junior Joel Hernandez chipped in with 14 points for the Blackbirds, who evened their record at 11-11 on the season and improved to 5-6 in Northeast Conference play.

In a disjointed game that saw 52 fouls called and 67 free throws taken between the two teams, Mount St. Mary's jumped out to an early 20-13 lead following two free throws from BK Ashe with 10:33 left in the first half. A three-pointer from sophomore Trevin Woods sparked a quick 6-0 spurt that narrowed LIU's margin to one.

The Mountaineers returned the favor, scoring six straight of their own including four from Ashe to regain a seven-point lead at the 7:50 mark. The lead was still seven nearly three minutes later when the Blackbirds scored eight of the next 10 points to once again pull within one. Woods again had a key play, blocking a shot at one end to ignite a fast-break opportunity for Hermannsson.

LIU Brooklyn entered intermission facing just a one-point deficit despite 10 turnovers and being outrebounded by a 22-14 margin. Hermannsson led the Blackbirds with 11 points, while Ashe also had 11 to pace Mount.

The Blackbirds opened the scoring in the second half with a nice backdoor cut from Hermannsson that led to a layup. A three-point bucket from Hernandez boosted LIU's lead to 42-38 with 15:33 left in the period, before Ashe answered with a three of his own. A dunk from Hernandez and four straight from junior Aakim Saintil gave the Blackbirds their largest lead of the game at 49-41 with 12:36 on the clock.

The margin was still eight at the 10:13 mark when 5-foot-6 sophomore Junior Robinson went to work for Mount St. Mary's. The diminutive guard scored the next seven points for his team to cut LIU's lead to 54-51 with 8:53 to go. Hermannsson responded with a big three-pointer at the top of the key to boost the lead back to six.

From there, the Blackbirds were able to answer every attempt Mount St. Mary's made to get within striking distance. With the LIU Brooklyn lead at 59-56 with 5:18 left, Frink made a key three-point play on a nice up-and-under layup to double the advantage. Minutes later with Mount once again trailing by three points, Saintil drove the lane for a hoop and Frink hit two free throws to regain a seven-point margin. 

Down the stretch, Mount pulled to within three points following a three-point play from Robinson and to just two after another three from Ashe with nine seconds left. Hermannsson split a pair at the free-throw line to push LIU's lead to three, and a last-second heave at the buzzer by the Mountaineers was off the mark as the Blackbirds pulled out the win.

Ashe finished with 21 points and Robinson closed with 20 for Mount St. Mary's, who fell to 10-14 on the year and 7-4 in the NEC with the loss.

LIU Brooklyn returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Sacred Heart. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.