NEW ORLEANS, La. – A late rally by the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team brought them within two points of Tulane with 23 seconds to play Friday night, but the home team held the Blackbirds off, taking the season opener, 102-96.

Junior Raiquan Clark had a career-high 34 points in the loss along with seven rebounds, while senior Joel Hernandez had 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Zach Coleman added 14 points and seven boards, while Jashaun Agosto had 14 points and four assists. The team's 96 points was the most LIU has scored in a game since the 2015-16 season, as the Blackbirds shot 50 percent from the field as a team.

Tulane would score first in the game, but the Blackbirds took the lead on their first basket, as Joel Hernandez hit a three at 17:55 that put LIU up, 3-2. The basket sparked a 13-2 spree by the Blackbirds, who jumped out to a 13-4 lead at 15:49, forcing Tulane to call a timeout. But the home team responded after the break, as over the next three minutes, the Waves would go on a 14-2 run to retake the lead, 18-15.

Tulane would continue to hammer LIU offensively, widening the lead to ten points at 7:33, as a part of a larger 13-4 run. The Blackbirds would match the home team for the rest of the half, but seven straight points in the final two minutes of the half put the home team up 17 points, their largest lead of the game. Sophomore guard Jashaun Agosto helped cut the deficit, hitting a three as the clock ran down to cut the gap to 52-38 at the half.

The Blackbirds came out of the break ready to battle back. At 19:12, Coleman would hit a layup that sparked an 8-2 run by LIU to cut the gap to 10 points, 56-46. But the Green Wave would surge again, widening the lead back up to 17 points with 10 minutes left to play, 80-63.

The Blackbirds' final push came in the last nine minutes of the game; Coleman would once again spark a run with his jumper at 9:52. LIU would outscore the home team 9-2 over the next two minutes, cutting the lead to eight points with 8:20 to play.

Hernandez helped drive LIU's comeback as the clock ran down; the senior hit a three that would cut the gap to seven points, 84-77 at 6:45, and then scored five points as a part of LIU's 7-1 run that would cut the lead to three, 91-88 with two minutes left.

The Green Wave would hold the Blackbirds off, widening the lead back up to seven points with 42 seconds left in the game, but another three-pointer from Hernandez four seconds later would silence the crowd. 15 seconds after that, Coleman hit a huge three that would cut the lead to 98-96 with 23 seconds left to play. But Tulane went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 18 seconds of action, clinching the season-opening win, 102-96.

Up next, the Blackbirds head uptown to take on Fordham, Monday, November 13 at 7 p.m.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Cameron Reynolds had 24 points for Tulane, one of five players in double figures for the home team. The Green Wave shot 51.4 percent from the field, and out-rebounded the Blackbirds 46-32.
• Raiquan Clark finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist. He went 14-20 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in 35 minutes of action.
• Jashaun Agosto finished with 14 points and a team-high four assists, along with six rebounds in 40 minutes of play.
• Joel Hernandez went 8-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-6 from long range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Zach Coleman shot 6-for-12 from the field for 14 points, and had seven rebounds, a block and an assists. Jamall Robinson had two steals and six points for LIU.
• LIU had 17 fast break points to Tulane's 4, and scored 17 points off of turnovers.
• Tulane had 27 points off the bench, and score 21 of their team points from the charity stripe (21-of-26).