BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team had a huge Northeast Conference win at home Saturday afternoon, beating Fairleigh Dickinson in the Steinberg Wellness Center, 75-69. The win propelled LIU (16-11, 9-5 NEC) to a second-place tie with FDU in the league standings. The Blackbirds also clinched a spot in the post season tournament with the victory

Iverson Fleming, Jerome Frink and Raiquan Clark all had 12 points in the win for LIU, while Nura Zanna added 10 points. Every Blackbird that went in the game for LIU scored Saturday.

The game was a closely contested one from the start. The Blackbirds jumped out to an early 9-3 over the Knights, but FDU would answer with seven straight points to take the lead, 10-9 at 16:13. The Blackbirds would eventually widen the lead back up on an 11-4 run that was driven almost entirely by sophomore Raiquan Clark. Clark converted a traditional three-point play to spark the run at 13:34, and scored four more points over the next five minutes, as the home team went up, 24-16.

The run was extended two minutes later, when a three from sophomore Raul Frias, a layup from sophomore Ganlandou Cisse and another three from Fleming gave LIU its widest lead of the game, 32-18 with 5:17 to play in the first half. The Knights rallied, however, and closed the half on a hot streak. A 17-5 run by FDU closed the gap to just seven points at the break, 37-30. And the Knights would could out of the half and score five more points right away to close LIU's lead to just two points, 37-35.

FDU retook the lead four minutes later, after sophomore guard Darnell Edge hit a three and a layup to put his team ahead, 45-44. The Blackbirds would answer with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes that put LIU ahead once more, 53-46. Senior Jerome Frink drove the point home on a quick possession by LIU just 20 seconds later; the Blackbirds pushed the pace off an FDU make, and freshman Jashaun Agosto found the senior open driving in the lane. Frink had a monster dunk and was fouled; he made the free throw, and LIU led, 56-48, with 10:29 to play.

FDU would come back to tie it up three more times in the remainder of the second half, but the Knights ran into foul trouble that would cost them big down the stretch. LIU went to the free throw line 30 times in the second half. Though the team shot 66.7 percent from the charity stripe overall, they were nearly perfect when the game was on the line; the Blackbirds went 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the game, including a perfect 8-for-8 in the final 52 seconds.

With the 75-69 win, LIU clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference tournament, and are tied for second in the standings with the Knights with four games remaining.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Four Blackbirds scored in double figures in the home win, while every player who went in the game scored.
• Sophomore Raiquan Clark finished with a career-high 12 points and six rebounds, including going 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
• Senior Jerome Frink finished with 12 pts, six rebounds and a team-high four assists, while senior Iverson Fleming also finished with 12 points.
• Redshirt junior Nura Zanna had 10 points and six rebounds, while freshman Jashaun Agosto had nine points and tied the team high with four assists. Sophomore Raul Frias finished with nine points.
• The Knights, playing without Darien Anderson, were led by Darnell Edge's 19 points. FDU also had four players in double digits, including Kaleb Bishop (13 pts), Malik Miller (12 pts) and Earl Potts Jr. (10 pts).
• Up next, the Blackbirds take on local rival St. Francis Brooklyn, in the annual Battle of Brooklyn contest. Liu will take the quick trip down Fulton Street for a game that will air on CBS Sports Network, Wednesday, February 15 at 6 p.m.