BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn basketball team used a total team effort to beat St. Francis Brooklyn in the Steinberg Wellness Center Saturday afternoon. The Blackbirds survived a late surge by the Terriers behind four players scoring in double figures, including three players with double doubles; with the win, LIU improves to 12-7 overall, and 5-1 in Northeast Conference action.
 
Seniors Iverson Fleming (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Jerome Frink (15 points, 12 rebounds), along junior Nura Zanna (12 points, 11 rebounds) each had a double double for LIU, while freshman Jashaun Agosto chipped in 12 points.
 
The Blackbirds started the game on a strong note, going up early on the Terriers, 11-2 in the first six minutes of action. But LIU hit a plateau, and St. Francis took advantage, going on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes. The Terriers forced four LIU turnovers in that span, taking a 14-11 lead on the Blackbirds with 8:30 left to play in the first half. The two teams stayed close for the remainder of the period; Frink's jumper with 1:52 on the clock helped LIU go up by give, but the Terriers would drain a three in the final minute of play, closing the gap to 23-21 at the break.
 
The second half stayed close for most of the period, and the Terriers would use a late 12-5 run to take the lead, 54-50 with 5:09 to play. But freshman Julian Batts hit a layup that would spark a 9-0 run by the Blackbirds; Zanna capped the streak at 1:18, when he got his own rebound on a missed free throw, and put it back in to give LIU up, 59-54. Fleming would help clinch the win 40 seconds later, on a reverse layup that widened the gap to five points, 61-56. The Terriers would make one more layup in the final 30 seconds, but missed a three-point attempt as Fleming and Frink would each hit free throws in the final seconds of play to assure the Blackbird victory, 63-58.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- Nura Zanna's rebound and put-back with 1:18 to play clinched the junior's 10^th double double of the season, which leads the league. It was his fourth-straight. Zanna had 12 points of 5-of-6 shooting, along with 11 rebounds.
- Senior Jerome Frink finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, for his eighth double double of the season, and his sixth straight.
- Senior Iverson Fleming finished the game with a team-high 16 points along with ten rebounds and four assists, the first double double of his collegiate career.
- Freshman Jashaun Agosto was the fourth player in double figures, with 12 points.
- SFBK freshman Rasheem Dunn led all scorers with 21 points and had eight rebounds, while Yunus Hopkinson had 16 points for the Terriers.
- LIU's defense held SFBK's leading scorer Glenn Sanabria (averaging 14.4 ppg) to just three points in the win, on 1-of-13 shooting.
- Up next, the Blackbirds host another borough battle, welcoming Wagner (3-3 NEC) to the Steinberg Wellness Center, Thursday, January 19 at 7 p.m.