EMMITSBURG, Md. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team kept hopes of a Northeast Conference regular season championship alive Thursday night in Knott Arena, as the Blackbirds (19-11, 12-5 NEC) bested league-leading Mount St. Mary's (15-15, 13-4 NEC), 62-58. Led by senior
Iverson Fleming's 21 point, LIU still has a shot at a share of the regular season title, and a No.1 seed in the postseason tournament, one game behind Mount in the standings, with one game left to play.
A 9-0 run in the final five minutes of the game made the different for LIU in the victory, giving the Blackbirds a 56-52 lead with 2:20 to play. Sophomore
Julius van Sauers went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final eight seconds to seal the victory for LIU.
Mount led for the majority of the game after Fleming opened the game with a layup. The home team would go on a 12-0 run to take the lead, and controlled the pace from there. Sophomore
Raul Frias hit back-to-back three pointers to keep the Blackbirds within striking distance, 14-8, but the Mountaineers would widen the lead back up to nine points midway through the first half.
The Blackbirds started to close the lead at 4:16, when Fleming hit a jumper shot to cut the gap to three. Freshman
Jashaun Agosto hit a three pointer two minutes later that would give LIU the lead for the first time since the start, 24-23. Freshman
Julian Batts would hit a free throw to widen it to 25-23, but Mount's Elijah Long hit a running three with 6 seconds left to give the home team the 26-25 lead at the break.
LIU retook the lead four minutes into the half, on a run sparked by Fleming. The senior hit two free throws and a jumper, and redshirt junior
Nura Zanna had a layup that put the Blackbirds up 33-32. Mount came back to retake the lead, and was up by as many as five points in the second half. But down, 52-47, the Blackbirds started a crucial run.
Senior
Jerome Frink, who was limited to just 24 minutes of action due to early foul trouble, started the run for the Blackbirds, making two free throws at 5:16. Sophomore
Raiquan Clark had a putback layup 40 seconds later, and Fleming added a layup at 3:51 to make it 53-52. Clark would shift momentum for good at the 2:20 mark, when the sophomore made a big-time layup and converted the free throw for an and one, putting LIU up, 56-52.
Mount's Chris Wray had a big dunk with just over two minutes left to cut the gap to two points, but LIU's defense kept the home team from scoring another field goal for nearly 90 seconds. After Fleming made a layup and van Sauers hit two free throws to make it 60-55 with eight ticks on the clock, Mount's Greg Alexander hit a huge three to cut the lead to two, 60-58 with three seconds left. The Mountaineers would foul van Sauers on the inbounds play after a timeout, but the sophomore had ice in his veins, and made both to put the Blackbirds up for good, 62-58.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- With the win, LIU has clinched at least a No. 2 seed in the playoffs and have a shot at a share of the NEC regular season crown.
- The Blackbirds would need a win over Wagner and a Mount loss to St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday to share the title. Seeding in the tournament would then be determined by the Saint Francis/FDU game; the Blackbirds would need FDU to win the game to take the top spot in the tournament bracket.
- Senior Iverson Fleming shot 61.5 percent from the field (8-13) to lead all players with 21 points, along with three steals.
- Redshirt junior Nura Zanna had 11 points and 13 rebounds for his NEC leading 14th double double.
- Jerome Frink finished with eight points and three assists, while Raiquan Clark had seven points.
- LIU outrebounded the Mountaineers, 39-29.
- Up next, the Blackbirds travel to Staten Island to take on Wagner, Saturday, February 28 at 4 p.m.