BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point deficit in the first half to come within six points of beating NJIT in the final minute of play at home Saturday afternoon, but the Blackbirds could not top the Highlanders' hot shooting, and fell 77-70. The loss was LIU's third-straight, as they move to 3-3 on the season, while NJIT improves to 6-1 early in the year.  Senior Raiquan Clark's 31 points and 10 rebounds led the Blackbirds in the loss.
 
The game was one of scoring streaks for both teams. Early in the game, the Blackbirds had the lead, 4-2, but the visiting team would answer on a 10-2 run that gave them the 12-6 advantage with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. But the Blackbirds answered that run with a run of their own, as junior Raul Frias and sophomore Ty Flowers both hit three pointers as a part of an 8-0 spree that put LIU on top, 14-12.  
 
NJIT would then outscore LIU 12-2 over the next two minutes, until Flowers and Julius van Sauers hit back to back threes that cut the gap back down to two, 24-22 with just over five minutes to go. But in the final four minutes of the first half, NJIT went on a 16-6 run that gave them their widest lead of the game, 43-30 at the halftime break.
 
In the second half, the Blackbirds got their offense going, in large part because of senior Raiquan Clark's efforts. At the 16 minute mark, he started a12-3 run for the Blackbirds with a layup. Senior Raul Frias also provided a spark off the bench, hitting a three-pointer at 15:46. And two minutes later, Frias capped LIU's run with a three-pointer that had cut the lead down to 58-54, and NJIT called a timeout.
 
LIU would keep it within four for a while, but with eight minutes left to play, the Highlanders started pulling away. A 10-3 run gave them the 74-63 lead with four minute on the clock. Jashaun Agosto and Clark would hit back to back field goals that cut the lead to six points, 74-68 with one minute on the clock, but NJIT was able to pull away and stay there, taking the win, 77-70.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Raiquan Clark led LIU with 31 points and 10 rebounds. The senior went 11-for-14 at the free throw line, and 10-for-18 from the field.
• Sophomore Ty Flowers was 3-for-5 from three-point range, with nine points, while Raul Frias also had three treys, and finished with nine points and two blocks.
• Junior Jashaun Agosto had a career-high 11 assists in the loss, while Julian Batts had seven points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Zach Cooks led NJIT with 22 points, one of four Highlanders to score in double digits in the win.
• Up next, the Blackbirds travel to Belfast, Ireland, to finish out the 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic. LIU opens the Irish portion of the tournament taking on the University at Albany, Friday, November 29 at 2 p.m. ET. All games in Ireland will air on CBS Sports Network.