PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team lost their second-straight in a hotly contested matchup at the Pizzitola Sports Center Saturday afternoon, falling to Brown, 94-86. The game, which lasted almost two and a half hours, saw the two teams combine for 59 fouls and 41 turnovers.

The Blackbirds were paced by junior Raiquan Clark, who led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 8-of-12 for the field. Clark also had a team-high six rebounds. Sophomore Julian Batts had a career performance in the loss, scoring a career-high 20 points, along with five steals, four assists and three rebounds.

LIU nearly saw a late run take control of the game, but once again, fell just short. The Blackbirds fought back to tie it up with just five minutes left to play, and were within four in the final two minutes, 84-80, but couldn't sustain the effort, and move to 2-5 on the season.

The game was close early in the first half with the two teams trading the lead. But the home team would string together a 10-0 run that gave the Bears a 20-9 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half.

But a minute later, junior Raul Frias would hit a three pointer that sparked a 12-6 run by LIU. Clark would hit two free throws at 7:24 that cut the lead to five, 26-21. The game was a story of runs, and Brown would come back with a 9-3 scoring spree that gave the home team its widest lead of the half, 35-23, with 5:31 to play.

LIU would use a scoring surge in the final five minutes to retake the lead. The Blackbirds would out score Brown 24-12 as the clock ran down, including threes from Batts and freshman Shyheim Hicks, taking a 48-47 lead at the half.

Brown opened the half on a 13-4 run that put the Bears up, 60-52 at 15:40. But the next time down the court, senior Joel Hernandez would come up with a block and the rebound, passing the ball to a breaking Clark, who would score the fast break layup. Hernandez then had a steal and a fast break layup of his own. The senior would add another bucket at 13:58 to cap a 6-0 run that had closed the lead to 61-58.

Freshman Eral Penn would hit a free throw at 9:04, and a layup at 8:47 that put LIU within one, 70-69. And four minutes later, a layup by senior Zach Coleman, followed by a three pointer from Clark tied the game up, 74-74 with 5:33 to play.

But Brown retook the lead shortly after, and this time, it proved to be for good. Two free throws would spark a 10-2 run by the Bears that made it 84-76 with 2:28 to play.

Clark would make a layup at the two-minute mark, and Hernandez would drain two free throws with 1:47 to play that pulled LIU within four points, 84-80. But the Bears put the game out of reach with a 9-3 run that made it 93-83 with 15 seconds to play. Batts would hit a three that helped closed the gap a bit, but it was not enough, and Brown took the win, 94-86.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Raiquan Clark scored 20+ points for the seventh game in a row. He also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• Sophomore Julian Batts eclipsed his former career best of 14 points with a 20-point effort Saturday. He shot 6-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range. He also went a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.
• Senior Joel Hernandez had 14 points, while freshman Eral Penn set a new career high as well. Penn had 10 points in 14 minutes, going 4-of-5 from the field, along with two blocks. Freshman Shyheim Hicks also had a new career high with eight points.
• Brown was led by 24 points from sophomore Brandon Anderson, and a double double of 12 points and 11 rebounds by junior Travis Fuller.
• Up next, the Blackbirds play their seventh road game of eight games so far this year, heading to Newark, N.J. to face off with NJIT, Tuesday, November 28 at 7 p.m.