BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The No. 4 seeded LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team had a big win in the first round of the Northeast Conference tournament Wednesday night, beating No. 5 seed St. Francis Brooklyn in the Steinberg Wellness Center, 73-50. Senior Joel Hernandez led all players in the win with 26 points.
 
The Blackbirds also had help from upset wins by No. 6 seed FDU and No. 7 seed Robert Morris, who both won on the road. Their wins over the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds means LIU is one of the two remaining high seeds, and will host the NEC semifinal game this Saturday. The Blackbirds will take on #6 seed FDU, Saturday, March 3 at 12 p.m.
 
"I've said many times there's not much difference between the maybe the first team all the way down to maybe to the tenth team in the league," LIU head coach Derek Kellogg said after the game. "There's as much parity as I've ever been involved in a conference. I was telling the staff and players that we could end up on the positive end of [the parity] in the league, and it's amazing that we can have another home game on Saturday. I'm anticipating another great crowd like we had tonight."
 
In front of a large, loud, Brooklyn-centric crowd, LIU and SFBK faced off for the third time in the last two weeks. The Terriers got on the board first, but a three pointer from Hernandez at 17:19 would put the Blackbirds on top, and they would not relinquish that lead for the rest of the night. St. Francis kept it close early on, with a three-pointer from Rasheem Dunn cutting it to one, 11-10 at the 12:29 mark, but shortly after, the Blackbirds began to pull away. Junior Raul Frias hit a three pointer at 10:06, and just 40 seconds later, sophomore Jashaun Agosto did the same. The two would combine, along with senior Zach Coleman, to put together a 12-0 run that spanned three minutes, and gave LIU a 25-12 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The Blackbirds held that lead and carried it into the halftime break, up 35-23.
 
"I have a lot of respect for that St. Francis team," Kellogg said. "They came from kinda out of nowhere in league play and played really, really hard for Coach [Glenn Braica]. And I thought that was going to be really tough game tonight, just like the other two."
 
The Terriers came out in the second half and were able to cut the lead back down to single digits. Jagos Lasic had two made free throws and a three pointer that would cut the gap to 37-30 at 16:15. Though the Terriers would keep it close over the next five minutes, LIU was able to pull away. A three pointer from sophomore Julian Batts at 11:04 was the first blow, putting LIU up, 52-38. And five minutes later, Joel Herandez dealt the finishing strikes. The senior went on an 8-0 run on his own, including back-to-back three pointers that pushed the Blackbird lead to 20 points, 60-40 with just over five minutes left in the game.
 
Though the two teams would trade baskets for the rest of the game, the damage was done, and the Terriers couldn't recover. The Blackbirds took the win by a final score of 73-50, and improve to 16-16 overall this season.
 
"I'm obviously excited that [Joel and Jashaun] and the guys in the locker room performed at such a high level," Kellogg said after the game. "As a coaching staff, we gave them a game plan, but we've played these guys three times in the last week and a half, so there's not a ton we can do to change up and do anything different. I thought the players came out and performed tonight. They locked it up on the defensive end and finally started rebounding the ball like I think we can. That, and it was nice to see some three point shots go in."
 
"We're excited and fortunate that we don't have to travel and that we have a home game here on Saturday, with a great, great crowd like we had tonight."
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• St. Francis Brooklyn struggled with shooting Wednesday. The Terriers shot 27.6 percent from the field, and just 19 percent from three-point range. LIU shot 43.9 percent from the field, and 40 percent from long distance.
• On the boards, LIU out rebounded the Terriers, 47-33. Senior Zach Coleman had 10 rebounds for the third straight game.
• LIU's defense also held All-NEC honoree Rasheem Dunne to just 10 points.
• Joel Hernandez finished the game with 26 points to lead all players, including going 3-for-5 from three-point range, with six rebounds and three assists.
• Sophomore Jashaun Agosto had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while classmate Julian Batts had nine points, seven rebounds and two assists.
• Junior Raiquan Clark, despite being limited by foul trouble, finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Coleman had 10 rebounds, seven points and two blocks.
• Up next, the Blackbirds host No. 6 seed FDU, who beat No. 3 seed Saint Francis U. on the road tonight, 84-75. LIU and FDU split the series this season, with each team winning on the road. The game will take place Saturday, March 3 in the Steinberg Wellness Center. Tip off will be at 12 p.m., and the game will air on both ESPN3 and NEC Front Row.