BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team saw their dreams of a Northeast Conference tournament championship dashed in the Steinberg Wellness Center Wednesday night, as the No.2 seeded Blackbirds were upset by No.7 seed Robert Morris. An improbable shot by RMU's Kavon Stewart with three seconds left would prove to be the difference, as the Colonials advance to the semifinals with the 69-68 win.

The Blackbirds, who led for most of the second half, took the lead for the last time with 17 seconds on the clock, when sophomore Raiquan Clark made two free throws to put LIU up, 68-67. On the next play down the court, Stewart would drive to the basket as the clock ran down, and put up a contested floater on the right side of the paint that put the visitors on top, 69-68 with three seconds on the clock. The Colonials successfully pressed LIU on the inbounds, and the Blackbirds couldn't get the play made, as Robert Morris took the win.

LIU shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and tallied a season-high 17 assists as a team in front of a home crowd of nearly 1,500 fans. Freshman Jashaun Agosto led LIU with 16 points and 10 assists, tying an NEC tournament freshman record in the process. Redshirt junior Nura Zanna had a double double as well, with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while seniors Jerome Frink and Iverson Fleming both finished with 10 points.

Robert Morris jumped out to an early advantage in the late night matchup, using three straight three-pointers from sophomore guard Matty McConnell to take a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. McConnell would lead all players on the night with 20 points, shooting 70 percent from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range.

LIU was able to neutralize the lead with a 9-2 run. Sparked by a jumper from Frink, the run included five points from sophomore Julius van Sauers, including a three pointer at 14:31 that would cut the gap to 11-9 with 14:31 to play in the first. Robert Morris would widen the lead up to six points on another three from McConnell, but LIU answered again, this time with back-to-back three pointers from sophomore Raul Frias to take their first lead of the game, 21-19 with 5:55 to play. The Colonials would go back up, 26-21 by the two-minute mark, but the Blackbirds ended the half on a 6-0 streak. Zanna would score four straight points, and Frink hit a layup with just 42 seconds left that would vault the Blackbirds back into the lead, 27-26 at the break.

LIU opened the second half in strong form, going on an 11-3 run that would span four minutes. Four different players contributed in the scoring spree that would put the Blackbirds up 7, 38-31 at 15:45. LIU would widen that lead up to as many as nine points, before watching RMU chip away at it. The visitors used two three pointers with seven minutes left to play that would help close the lead to two points, 56-54. LIU held on, despite Robert Morris tying the score up, but with just over four minutes left in regulation, RMU overcame LIU once more. McConnell would hit a three pointer that put the Colonials on top again, 61-60. Freshman Jashaun Agosto made back to back layups to put his team on top, 64-61 with 2:40 to play, but the Colonials wouldn't give up. Dachon Burke had a layup with 37 seconds on the clock to put his team up one, and though Clark would use his time at the charity stripe to put LIU back on top, Stewart's jump shot ended the night on a sour note.

"I'm certainly proud of this group and what they've accomplished," LIU Brooklyn head coach Jack Perri said after the game. "It's a tough pill to swallow, to go down at home. It was an unbelievable environment. Our administration and staff did a great job in getting people at this game, and it was just an awesome environment. And it's too bad the outcome was this outcome."

QUICK HITS

• Freshman Jashaun Agosto finished with 16 points and 10 assists, tying a Northeast Conference Tournament freshman record. He scored his points on 7-of-14 shooting, and also had five rebounds and a team high two blocks.
• Nura Zanna had his NEC best 15 double-double Wednesday night, with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
• Seniors Iverson Fleming and Jerome Frink added 10 points each, while Raiquan Clark added nine and Raul Frias had eight.