LORETTO, Pa. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team led at the halftime break in DeGol Arena Thursday evening, but Saint Francis U. would put together a scoring surge in the second half that the Blackbirds could not overcome. The Red Flash beat the Blackbirds 85-68, moving LIU to 6-10 on the season, and 1-2 in Northeast Conference play.
 
Sophomore Julian Batts led LIU with 14 points, while senior Joel Hernandez had 12 points and tied his career high with six assists. Senior Jamall Robinson chipped in 12 points, shooting 4-for-7 from three-point range, while Jashaun Agosto had 11 points. Senior Zach Coleman had a team-high 13 rebounds and three blocks in his first game back from injury.
 
The Blackbirds would get on the board first with a three-pointer from Jashaun Agosto at 19:03, and the two teams would go back and forth from there. With LIU on top, 9-7 thanks to a trey from Julius van Sauers, SFU would go on a 7-0 run to take the 14-9 advantage with 15:50 to go. Senior Joel Hernandez would make back-to-back layups that gave LIU the lead back, 15-14 at 13:36. The two teams would continue to go back and forth throughout the half, until late in the stanza, when LIU would pull ahead.
 
Sophomore Julian Batts and senior Jamall Robinson combined for a 9-0 run, as the duo made back-to-back-to-back three pointers over the span of a minute that would give the Blackbirds a 33-27 lead with 4:34 left to play in the half. Though SFU would come back to keep it close, LIU led at the halftime break, 36-35.
 
Coming out of the break was where the Red Flash did the most damage. In the first four minutes of the period, the home team outscored LIU, 12-0, taking the lead, 45-35. Senior Zach Coleman would give the Blackbirds a spark at the 16-minute mark. Coleman had a tip-in, and on LIU's next play down the court, he grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Robinson, who made the three and brought LIU back within five, 45-40. But SFU's Andre Wolford had a three just 20 seconds later, and was fouled. He converted the four-point play, widening the gap back up to nine points. Wolford's effort was a part of a larger 11-3 run by the Flash, who would go up 56-43, with 13:43 to play.
 
Junior Raul Frias would hit a three at the 12-minute mark that brought LIU back within single digits, 56-49, but it was the closest the Blackbirds would come for the rest of the game. SFU's Keith Braxton hit a three at 7:54 that would put the home team up by 10, and the Red Flash would lead by double digits for the remainder of the game, eventually taking the win, 85-68.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Saint Francis was led by 23 points from Jamaal King, 20 points from Andre Wolford, and 14 points and 14 rebounds from Keith Braxton.
• The Red Flash had 20 fast break points, and 19 points off of LIU's 13 turnovers.
• LIU shot just 26.7 percent from long distance in the second half (4-for-15).
• Jamall Robinson had a season-high 12 points, going 4-for-7 from three-point range.
• Senior Joel Hernandez tied his career-high with six assists, all in the first half. His 12 points was second on the team, but marked a snap of seven straight games with 20 points or more.
• Sophomore Julian Batts led LIU with 14 points in 32 minutes.
• Zach Coleman had 13 rebounds (including six offensive boards), nine points (4-for-4 from the field) and three blocks in 20 minutes off the bench. The senior had missed the last three games due to injury.
• Up next, the Blackbirds take on Robert Morris in Pittsburgh, Saturday, January 6 at 4 p.m.