NEC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team will host the first round of the Northeast Conference men's basketball championship tournament Wednesday night in the Steinberg Wellness Center. The Blackbirds finished the regular season with a 10-8 NEC record, and hold the No.4 seed in the tournament. LIU will host No.5 see St. Francis Brooklyn, in a game that will air on NEC Front Row.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- The Blackbirds won their last two games of the regular season and had some help to host, but enter Wednesday's game as the No.4 overall seed. LIU finished the year with an 88-77 win over Sacred Heart at home, and end the year 15-16 overall, and 10-8 in league action.
- LIU finished the regular season with a 10-2 record in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
- SFBK ended the year with an identical 10-8 league record, and 13-17 overall. After falling to the Blackbirds last Thursday, the Terriers lost on the road to CCSU in overtime, 78-75.
- St. Francis was picked to finish tenth in this year's preseason coaches' poll, but have earned the No.5 seed in the tournament behind head coach Glenn Braica, second team All-NEC honoree Rasheem Dunn, and All-Rookie selection Jalen Jordan.
- The two teams will face off for the third time in two weeks Wednesday. The first time they met this season was just 12 days ago on February 15, and the rematch came seven days later, on February 22.
- In the first meeting, the Blackbirds fell to St. Francis Brooklyn, 84-79, in a back-and-forth battle at the Pope Physical Education Center. Junior Raiquan Clark led LIU in the loss, with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Jashaun Agosto had 18 points and eight assists.
- The Blackbirds shot 50.8 percent from the field in that game, but just 26.3 percent from long range. St. Francis shot 48.4 percent from the field, and had 13 three-pointers made, on 29 taken (.448).
- SFBK had three players in double figures, led by Rasheem Dunn. Dunn had 24 points, including going 4-for-7 from three-point range, while freshman Jalen Jordan had 20 points and Mikija Cosic had 12.
- The second meeting came on LIU's home court. And the 43rd annual Battle of Brooklyn game was just that: a battle. The Blackbirds and the Terriers clashed in a contest in front of a rowdy crowd in the Steinberg Wellness Center that never saw a lead of more than six points. But for the second year in a row, it was LIU that would come out on top, as the Blackbirds earn borough bragging rights by beating SFBK, 81-76.
- Senior Joel Hernandez was named the Lai-Lynch Battle of Brooklyn MVP, as he led LIU with 23 points, including five in the last 17 seconds of the game to help seal the win.
- Dunn led all scorers with 24 points for the Terriers.
- Clark had 18 points and 14 rebounds for his seventh double double of the season. He had most of his points from the free throw line, where he went 12-for-18. Agosto shot 7-of-14 from the field and 4-for-6 from three-point range to finish with 18 points. The sophomore also had five rebounds. Sophomore Julian Batts had a box-score filling game, with 13 points, six assists, four rebounds and a career-high three blocks. And senior Zach Coleman had a huge defensive game for the Blackbirds, with 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, along with five points and two assists.
- The Terriers out-rebounded LIU 46-40, including a 28-11 advantage in offensive boards. The Blackbirds had the advantage on the free throw line, shooting 35 free throws to SFBK's 17, thanks in part to first half foul trouble for the visitors.
- As two charter members of the NEC, LIU and SFBK have been meeting since 1928 to battle for borough bragging rights. All-time, LIU leads that battle, 67-42. But in the NEC playoffs, the two teams have only met four times, splitting those results. Most recently, St. Francis has the advantage, having beaten LIU in the quarterfinals in 2015, en route to the championship game.
- Up next, the winner advances to the NEC semifinals, with the teams reseeding after the quarterfinal round, and the highest remaining seeds hosting.