BROOKLYN, N.Y. - It was a game of wild swings, as the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team led by as many as 15 and trailed by as many as 11 to Brown University at home Friday night, but the Blackbirds went on top when it mattered most, taking the lead with one second left on the clock, and eventually beating the Bears, 83-81. With the win, LIU moves to 2-0 early on the season.

Junior Julian Batts led the Blackbirds, scoring 26 points and grabbing four steals, while senior Raiquan Clark had 14 points and junior Jashaun Agosto had 12 points, including the two game-winning free throws.

Early in the game, LIU would go on a 10-2 run, capped by a three pointer from junior Julius van Sauers that would put the home team on top, 23-11. Another junior, Ganlandou Cisse, gave the Blackbirds major momentum just a few minutes later. Cisse would come up with a huge block, and on the fast break down the court, senior Raul Frias drained a huge three that put LIU up, 31-18. On the next play, Cisse got a huge defensive rebound and was fouled. The junior made both free throws coming out of the break, giving LIU its widest lead of the game, 33-18. And less than 30 seconds later, he made a layup to put the Blackbirds on top, 35-20.

But Brown would start to chip away at the lead minutes later, and the visiting team went on a 12-4 run. The Bears eventually extended that run, outscoring LIU 20-8 over the final minutes of the half, cutting the lead to 43-40 at the halftime break.

The Bears rode that momentum into the second stanza, and just minutes in, would go on another run, this time a 10-2 swing, to take the lead, 58-50. LIU kept it close, but with six minutes left to play, Brown extended the lead to 73-62, and the game seemed out of reach for the Blackbirds.

Batts would prove otherwise. The junior made a three at 5:24, and then scored three more on an and-one, cutting the lead to 75-70. Just seconds later, junior Jashaun Agosto would hit a big three that cut the lead down to four. In the final four minutes, Agosto would make five free throws to help ice the win for LIU. Batts also hit a jumper in the paint with a minute left to give the Blackbirds the 81-79 lead, but Brown would answer with a layup to knot it up , 81-81 with 46 seconds to play.

LIU would miss a late three, but van Sauers got a huge offensive board, and with the clock counting down, Agosto would go for the late driving layup and drew the foul. The Seattle, Washington native hit both with 1.2 seconds on the clock, and LIU led, 83-81.

Brown's late game heroics failed, and the Blackbirds won their second straight, 83-81.

NOTES FROM THE NEST
- Julian Batts led the Blackbirds with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three point range. He also had six rebounds, a team-high four steals and two assists.
- Raiquan Clark, Jashaun Agosto and Eral Penn also scored in double digits, as Clark had 14 points, Agosto had 12 points and four assists and Penn had 10 points for the second straight game.
- Julius van Sauers had nine points and nine rebounds for LIU, while Raul Frias had five points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
- Up next, LIU heads north to take on Fairfield, Tuesday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m.