NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team closed the gap to just three points with three minutes left to play, but the Blackbirds couldn't overcome Central Connecticut State's lead, falling to the Blue Devils, 61-52 in Detrick Gymnasium. LIU was led by a double double from senior
Jerome Frink, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds despite foul trouble, while freshman
Julian Batts and sophomore
Raiquan Clark each added 11 points. With the loss, LIU moves to 14-9 overall and 7-3 in Northeast Conference play, while CCSU improves to 4-17 overall and 2-8 in the NEC.
The Blackbirds struggled with their worst performance at the free throw line this season, going 9-for-25 as a team (37.5 percent). LIU also had a tough time with the long ball, going 3-for-18 (15.8 percent) from three-point range.
LIU started out on a strong note, taking a 12-5 lead in the early going. But the Blue Devils answered the spree with a 6-0 run, holding the Blackbirds scoreless for three minutes to take their first lead of the game, 13-12. Freshman
Julian Batts hit a three pointer at the ten-minute mark that would give LIU the lead once more, 16-15, but CCSU ended the half on a 12-3 spurt that included eight LIU turnovers; the home team would take a 27-19 lead into the break.
LIU made several runs at the Blue Devils in the second half. LIU started the stanza with a 6-2 run to close the lead to four, 29-25, but CCSU eventually widened the gap back up to nine points on a three from Austin Nehls.
Batts and Frink would combine to go on a 6-0 run for the Blackbirds once more, starting at 12:46. Batts fed Frink on a fast break layup, and then hit two free throws. A minute later, freshman
Jashaun Agosto fed Frink for a big dunk that would cut the home team's lead to three, 37-34 with 11:19 to go. But the Blue Devils, using two threes from Nehls, would widen the lead to 12 points with 7:00 on the clock, 50-38.
But the Blackbirds came back with nine unanswered points, holding the home team without a field goal for nearly five minutes. A three-point play by
Raiquan Clark started the spurt with 5:45 to play. Frink's layup with 2:57 to play would cap the spree, and help cut the CCSU lead to 50-47. But layups by CCSU's Mustafa Jones and Nehls ended the scoring draught, and gave the home team a seven-point lead once more. LIU would be unable to come any closer from there, as Blue Devils hit 7-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 64 seconds to take the 61-52 victory.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- Senior Jerome Frink led LIU with 15 points and 10 rebounds, despite being limited to just 18 minutes of action by foul trouble.
- Freshman Julian Batts had 11 points for the Blackbirds, while sophomore Raiquan Clark had a career-high 11 points, along with six rebounds, shooting 4-for-5 from the field.
- Austin Nehls led all players with 20 points, 16 of which came in the second half, and included a 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Jones and Tyson Batiste added 10 points each for CCSU.
- Up next, the Blackbirds host Robert Morris in the Steinberg Wellness Center, Thursday, February 2 at 7 p.m.