BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Despite having home court advantage for the first time in over a month, the LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team fell to Saint Francis U. in the Steinberg Wellness Center, 74-67. Senior Raiquan Clark would put up 29 points Thursday night, but the Blackbirds couldn't overcome a strong first half by the Red Flash offense, and move to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in the Northeast Conference, while SFU improves to 6-8 and 2-1 in the NEC.
 
LIU would score first in the contest, and the two teams stayed close from there. Though SFU would take a 14-6 lead at one point, the Blackbirds would battle back, and a layup from junior Julius van Sauers would keep them within three points, 16-13. But then the Red Flash put together a scoring spree over the next three minutes, 12-0, that would put the Blackbirds in a 28-13 hole with 8:32 to play in the first half. The Red Flash would end the half on another 8-2 run that gave the visiting team a 45-29 advantage at the halftime break.
 
LIU struggled to get their offense going in the first stanza, as they shot just 36.4 percent from the field in the first half, and just 3-for-12 (25.0 percent) from three-point range.
 
But the Blackbirds' shooting woes stayed in the first half; LIU came out in the second half and put together a 10-2 run over the first two minutes that would cut SFU's lead down to 47-39 with 17:21 on the clock. SFU was able to keep LIU at arm's reach, scoring seven unanswered points to go up, 58-44, but the Blackbirds kept coming back. Clark would put together a one-man 8-2 run that brought LIU back within single digits, 60-52 with 9:25 to play.
 
And freshman Ousmane Ndim gave LIU a spark off the bench when he scored four straight points that would close the gap to just six points, 64-58 with 6:53 to play. Three minutes later, junior Julius van Sauers would find Ty Flowers in the paint, and he made a layup that brought LIU within five, 69-64 with 3:53 to go. But SFU would keep the Blackbirds from scoring for the next three minutes, and made five free throws to help put away the game. LIU junior Julian Batts would hit a long three-pointer with 20 seconds left that gave the Blackbirds a shot at a late rally, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Red Flash lead, and LIU fell, 74-67.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Senior Raiquan Clark had a game-high 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting, along with seven rebounds and two steals.
• Junior Julian Batts had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal for LIU, while sophomore Ty Flowers had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his NEC-leading sixth double double of the year. Flowers, who went 5-for-13 from the field also had a team-high four assists, two blocks and a steal.
• Freshman Ousmane Ndim gave LIU a spark off the bench, scoring his first career field goal en route to four points and three rebounds in just seven minutes of play.
• The Blackbirds finished the game shooting 40.6 percent from the field, but just 21.7 percent from three-point range.
• Saint Francis had offensive contributions from nine different players, led by 17 points from Isaiah Blackmon, and 16 points and 13 rebounds from Keith Braxton.
• Up next, LIU hosts Robert Morris, Saturday, January 12 at 4:30 p.m.
• Prior to Thursday's game, the Blackbirds presented Raiquan Clark with his commemorative 1,000-point ball. Clark now ranks 29^th all-time in LIU history with 1,120 career points.