EMMITSBURG, Md. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team will play on national television for the second time in a week Thursday, February 23, as the Blackbirds (18-11, 11-5 Northeast Conference) take on league-leading Mount St. Mary's (15-14, 13-3 NEC) in a contest that will air on CBS Sports Network.
Dave Popkin, Joe DeSantis and Paul Dottino will have the call for CBSSN, in LIU's fourth TV game of the season. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
QUICK HITS
- Thursday's matchup pits the current No.1 seed Mount St. Mary's against current No. 2 seed LIU. The Mountaineers have a lot at stake: Mount St. Mary's needs to win one of its final two games to clinch its first NEC regular season title in 21 years. The Blackbirds still have a shot at the share of the title, if they win both of their remaining conference games, and Mount falls to St. Francis Brooklyn in their season finale.
- LIU has won four straight games, including most recently, an 83-82 decision over Sacred Heart on Senior Day. Senior Iverson Fleming led the Blackbirds with 24 points on Senior Day, and had a huge block to save the game for the Blackbirds as the buzzer sounded. Sophomore Raiquan Clark had another career night, with 17 points and seven rebounds, while redshirt junior Nura Zanna had his NEC best 13th double double, with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
- Clark earned NEC Player of the Week honors for last week's efforts. The sophomore came off the bench to average 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in just 23.5 minutes per game. He scored his 32 points quite efficiently on just 14 shots, converting at an 85.7 percent clip from the floor. He also did not commit a single turnover in 47 minutes.
- Mount St. Mary's is coming off a come-from-behind win over FDU Saturday, 79-74. The Mountaineers are used to close contests, as thirteen of Mount's NEC games have been determined by fewer than 10 points either way, including eight games by five points or fewer.
- Last time LIU and Mount faced off, it was the opening of the NEC season. Zanna made a put-back layup in the paint to tie the game with 4.2 seconds on the clock in the Steinberg Wellness Center, but Mount St. Mary's answered with a layup as the buzzer sounded, taking the 67-65 win over LIU.
- Zanna had a career night for the Blackbirds, with 21 points, a new career high. He also grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds, and had a game-high three assists. Senior Jerome Frink was one board away from a double-double, with 14 points and nine rebounds
- Mount is led by Elijah Long, who scored 21 points against LIU when they played. He ranks sixth in the NEC with a 14.8 points per game average. Long is also second in the league, with 4.38 assists per game.
- The Mountaineers have two other players averaging in double figures in Junior Robinson (12.7 ppg) and Miles Wilson (11.2 ppg). Defensively, Chris Wray is second in the league in blocked shots, swatting away an average of 1.48 per game, and leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game.
- Up next, the Blackbirds wrap up the regular season at Wagner, Saturday, February 25 at 4 p.m.