PITTSBURGH, Pa. – In a back-and-forth battle at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh, the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team fell to league-leading Robert Morris, 88-79 Saturday evening. The contest, which was closer than the final score indicated, saw the lead change hands 21 times throughout the night, in a game that looked like it would come down to the final possession. But the Colonials would string together a 7-1 run in the final three minutes that put the game out of reach for LIU, and the Blackbirds move to 6-11 on the season and 1-3 in the Northeast Conference.
 
LIU started strong Saturday, as the Blackbirds were able to pressure RMU into early turnovers, taking an 8-4 lead at 16:18. LIU widened that lead with back-to-back layups from senior Zach Coleman to make it 12-6 at 14:11. The Colonials started to turn the tide around the 12-minute mark, using an 8-0 run, including two big threes, to take their first lead of the game. A fast break dunk would make it 17-16 for RMU at 11:19.
 
From there, the two teams traded the lead back and forth for the rest of the half. A three-pointer from senior Jamall Robinson would put LIU up at 8:17, 25-23, and two minutes later, Clark would score four straight points to make it 29-26 for LIU. RMU would use a three and some free throws to go back up, but Coleman would have a big tip in, and Julian Batts hit a three pointer at 3:20 to make it 34-31 LIU. RMU would regain control, but on the final play of the half, Batts stole the ball off their inbounds, and was fouled going up. The sophomore would make both free throws and tie the game up at the half, 38-38.
 
Sophomore Julius van Sauers gave LIU the lead coming into the second half with a three-pointer at 19:29, but Robert Morris answered with a scoring spree that put LIU back on its heels. The Colonials would score nine unanswered points to retake the lead, 47-41 at 17:02.
 
The home team continued to lead for the next five minutes, until a trey from Robinson made it 52-51 for LIU. The Blackbirds kept it close from there, using a layup from Clark at 11:05 to tie it up for the ninth time, 56-56.  A layup from Agosto at 9:05 gave LIU its final lead of the day, 62-61. Immediately following that play, RMU went on a 9-2 run that widened the lead to 70-63. The Blackbirds would battle back with a three-pointer from Joel Hernandez at 4:17, and two free throws from the senior at 3:35 would bring LIU back within one point, 72-71. But over the next two minutes, the Colonials widened the gap, going 3-for-4 from the field as a part of a 7-1 run that gave them a 79-72 lead with 1:34 to play.
 
Though the Blackbirds would close the gap to just five points with a minute to go, RMU was still firing on all cylinders. The home team went 2-for-2 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the final 57 seconds to seal the 88-79 win, and move to 4-0 in NEC play.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Junior Raiquan Clark led the Blackbirds in scoring, with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, along with two steals and four rebounds.
• Sophomore Jashaun Agosto had 15 points (shooting 7-for-10 from the field), four assists and six rebounds, while sophomore Julian Batts had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
• Senior Joel Hernandez added 11 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Zach Coleman had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.
• RMU had five players in double figures, led by Dachon Burke's 20 points.
• Up next, the Blackbirds have a rematch with Fairleigh Dickinson, Thursday, January 11 in Teaneck, N.J. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.