BELFAST, Northern Ireland – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half to beat the University at Albany, 80-77 Thursday night in SSE Arena, in the semifinals of the 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic. The Blackbirds (4-3) were led by senior Raiquan Clark, who had 27 points, 20 of which he scored in the second half. Clark was just one of four LIU players who scored in double digits, as junior Jashaun Agosto (17 points), junior Julian Batts (14 points) and sophomore Ty Flowers (10 points, 9 rebounds) all helped pace the Blackbirds in the win.
 
It was a tale of two halves for LIU, who struggled to score in the first half, and then erupted in the second half. The Blackbirds made just seven field goals in the first 20 minutes, shooting 21.9 percent from the field, but made 61.3 percent of their shots in the second half to rocket past the Great Danes (2-5). The Blackbirds also forced Albany into 26 turnovers in the contest.

"We've been working to try to get the pace of the game a little faster and a little more chaotic," head coach Derek Kellogg said after the game. "That didn't really happen much in the first half, but I was happy to see - we kept at it a little bit and made some shots, and I feel we loosened them up in the second half. We were very fortunate, obviously, to come away with a win. Both teams played hard and the guys kept competing, and good things happen once in a while."
 
Both teams struggled in the first half, but Albany found their footing first, and ended the first half on a 10-3 run that gave them a 32-23 advantage at the break. LIU also struggled with fouls in the first half, as the Great Danes scored 14 of their 32 points from the free throw line.  
 
But a reinvigorated LIU team came out of the break, and couldn't miss. The Blackbirds went 7-for-8 in the first four minutes of the second half, including nine points from Clark, and two three pointers from both Agosto and Flowers. Flowers' second three-point shot brought the Blackbirds within two, 46-44 at 15:59.
 
Albany was also shooting well, however, and was able to widen the lead back up to eight points, 68-60 with just under eight minutes left to play. But just two minutes later, the Blackbirds went on a run of their own. LIU would outscore Albany 10-0 over the next two minutes to come back and tie it up. Junior Julian Batts sparked the run with a three pointer at 6:05, and then made three free throws to help tie the game up, 71-71. Clark would make a layup at 3:54 that put LIU back on top for the first time in the second half, 73-71, and Albany called a timeout.
 
The Great Danes would tie it up twice more in the final minutes, but Batts put the Blackbirds ahead for good with a layup at 1:37. He was fouled and converted the three-point play to put LIU on top, 78-75. From there, Agosto made two free throws that would help LIU maintain the lead and take the win, 80-77, and the Blackbirds had snapped their three game losing skid.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• With the win, the Blackbirds advance to the tournament championship game. They will take on Marist, Friday, November 30 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.
• Raiquan Clark went 10-for-20 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. He also had seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• Sophomore Ty Flowers was just one rebound away from a double-double, with 10 points and nine rebounds, along with two blocks.
• Junior Jashaun Agosto was 5-for-9 from the field for 17 points, while Julian Batts was 4-for-7 with 14 points.
• The Blackbirds scored 26 points off of Albany turnovers.
• In the second half, LIU shot 61.3 percent from the field, and 69.2 percent from three-point territory.
• Marist (2-4) advanced to the championship game with a 76-58 win over Dartmouth in the first game of the day.