BROOKLYN, N.Y. – For the second time in as many weeks, the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team took on Hartford, and for the second time in as many games, the Blackbirds (3-6) and the Hawks (3-5) saw the game come down to the final seconds of play. And for the second time, it was LIU that came out on top, beating Hartford in the Steinberg Wellness Center Thursday night, 79-78. Redshirt senior Joel Hernandez led LIU in the win, with 10 rebounds and a career-high 27 points, including the game-winning free throw.
 
Thanks to a run that spanned the halftime break, LIU led by nine points with two and a half minutes to play, but Hartford would battle back to cut the lead to just two points, 76-74 with 27 seconds on the clock. A three pointer by the Hawks with five seconds left tie the game up, 78-78, but Hernadnez would make a free throw with 0.6 seconds on the clock to give LIU the lead. Hartford would call a timeout and had possession with 0.3 seconds to go, but the lob down court was unsuccessful, and the Blackbirds took the win.
 
Hartford took the lead early in the game, and led for the majority of the first half. LIU would tie it up multiple times, but struggled to take or cement the lead. Hartford used a three-pointer by Dunne to go up, 9-6, but Julian Batts would hit one of his four threes to tie it up, 9-9 with 13:34 on the clock. An 8-2 run by the Hawks would make it 17-11 with just under 10 minutes to go, but Batts and junior Raul Frias would hit back-to-back three pointers to knot it up once again with nine minutes left. The visiting team would continue to hold on to the lead until the Blackbirds started a run with four minutes left to play. LIU finished the half on a 13-5 run, including layups from Hernandez and Jashaun Agosto to close the half, and LIU led, 37-34 at the break.
 
The Blackbirds' hot streak continued into the second half. LIU would open on a 13-4 run, including another three from Batts, that would give the Blackbirds a 50-38 advantage at 16:46. Though LIU led from there, Hartford continue to chip away at the lead. A 14-5 run by the visiting team that spanned seven minutes would bring the lead back down to single digits. A three pointer and two free throws by Hartford's Jason Dunne would cut it to two points, 60-58 with 8:38 to play.
 
Hernandez hit a three at 7:49 that gave the Blackbirds some breathing room, and another trey from Batts would make it 70-63 with 4:26 to go. Agosto and Hernandez would both make free throws that widened the gap to nine points, 74-65 with 2:35 to go.
 
Hartford continued to battle, however, and made a layup and a three that cut the gap 74-70. Hernandez made a jumper in the paint to give LIU a six-point cushion, but the Hawks made a layup and two free throws to cut it back down to two, 77-75. Agosto would make one of two with 13 seconds on the clock to give LIU the three-point advantage, but Hartford's Travis Weatherington hit a big three as the clock ran down, tying the game up, 78-78 with five seconds to go. Hernandez was fouled when he took a last second shot, and the senior would make one of three with 0.6 to go. Hartford rebounded the last missed shot and called a timeout, but couldn't convert the final play, and the Blackbirds eeked out their second home win of the season.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• With the win, the Blackbirds snapped a three-game losing streak, and improve to a perfect 2-0 in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
• Joel Hernandez finished with a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds, his first double double of the season.
• Sophomore Julian Batts had a box-score filling game, with 17 points, six steals, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists. He shot 5-of-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from long distance in the win for LIU.
• Sophomore Jashaun Agosto finished with 14 points and three assists.
• LIU shot 52.9 percent from the field, but just 56.7 percent from the free throw line.
• Jason Dunne led Hartford with 19 points, while John Carroll had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
• Up next, the Blackbirds host Stony Brook, Monday, December 4 at 7 p.m.