BROOKLYN, N.Y. – NJIT gave the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team multiple opportunities to take control of the game Tuesday night in the Wellness and Events Center, but the Blackbirds couldn't convert on their chances, and the Highlanders notched their first-ever victory over LIU, 73-69.
 
The Highlanders went 1-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 90 seconds of play, including missing the front end of three straight one and one opportunities. But LIU also struggled as the clock ran down, going 0-for-6 from three-point range and 0-for-7 from the field overall in the final 90 seconds.
 
Senior Joel Hernandez led LIU with 13 points and a career-high six assists, while sophomore Julian Batts had 13 points and five rebounds. Junior Raiquan Clark had a double double for the Blackbirds, with 12 points. NJIT's Abduhl Lewis led all players with 23 points and 18 rebounds for the home team.
 
Early in the game, the two teams were close. A layup from sophomore Jashaun Agosto would knot the score up, 7-7 at 17:46. From there, however, NJIT went on a 8-0 run to open up the lead. The Blackbirds missed six shots in the span, as the home team took a 15-7 lead, carrying that to a 17-9 advantage with 13:07 left to play.
 
Three Blackbirds would combine to score seven straight points and bring the game back within reach: Julius van Sauers and Julian Batts went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, and junior Raul Frias drained a three pointer at 10:40, and LIU was down one, 17-16. Batts would give the Blackbirds the lead with his three at 8:16, but the two teams went back and forth from there. LIU's widest lead of the half would come after Clark made four straight free throws. The junior was fouled and NJIT had a technical called. Clark put all four away, and the Blackbirds were up, 36-32 with 2:13 to play. But in the final 30 seconds of the half, NJIT would score six straight points, including a steal and a dunk as time expired, taking a 41-38 advantage into the break.
 
The Blackbirds would slowly chip away at the lead to start the second half, and eventually, a layup from Hernandez at 15:42 would put LIU back on top, 48-47. It was the last time the Blackbirds would hold the lead. Over the next four minutes, NJIT went on a 13-3 run, forcing four LIU turnovers and eventually taking the lead with 11 minutes to play, 60-51.

Frias would make two shots in the final 10 minutes that would get LIU within striking distance. The junior drained a three off a pass from Hernandez at 7:22 that cut the lead to four points, and at 3:51, he had a steal and the fast break layup to make it 67-66.
 
But despite the chances NJIT would offer in the final few minutes of the game, LIU couldn't capitalize, and fell to the Highlanders, 73-69.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• NJIT scored 24 points off of LIU's 17 turnovers.
• The Highlanders shot 50 percent from the field, but also shot just 50 percent from the free throw line. LIU shot 88.0 percent from the free throw line, led by Clark's 8-of-9 and Hernandez's 7-for-7 efforts, but the team shot just 37.7 percent from the field overall.
• Joel Hernandez had 12 points and a career-high six assists, while Julian Batts was 4-for-7 with 13 points.
• Raiquan Clark had his first double double of the season, with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Jashaun Agosto had 11 points for LIU. Senior Zach Coleman chipped in seven points, seven rebounds and three steals.
• Up next, the Blackbirds return home to downtown Brooklyn for the first time in five games. LIU will host Hartford in the Steinberg Wellness Center, Thursday, November 30 at 7 p.m.