BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team will look to take down the lone undefeated team remaining in the Northeast Conference at home this Saturday. The Blackbirds (7-8, 1-2 NEC) will host the Robert Morris Colonials (8-,8, 3-0 NEC) in the second half of an NEC doubleheader at the Steinberg Wellness Center, January 12 at 4:30 p.m.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- Despite having home court advantage for the first time in over a month LIU fell to Saint Francis U. in the Steinberg Wellness Center, 74-67 Thursday night. Senior Raiquan Clark would put up 29 points Thursday night to lead all scorers, but the Blackbirds couldn't overcome a strong first half by the Red Flash offense.
- 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.
- Robert Morris comes to downtown Brooklyn hot off their fourth-straight win, as the only NEC team without a loss to blemish their conference record. The Colonials have beaten Fairleigh Dickinson (69-62), Mount St. Mary's (62-59) and St. Francis Brooklyn (52-49) to open their league slate unbeaten.
- Overall, RMU is 8-8, with losses to bigger schools like USC, Purdue and Louisville in their non-conference schedule.
- So far this season, the Colonials are the toughest defensive team in the league. In three NEC games, they're holding their opponents to a conference-low 56.7 points per game.
- Offensively, senior guard Josh Williams is RMU's top scorer, averaging 14.6 points per game. Senior forward Mailk Petteway adds 10.9 points per game, and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game. Petteway is also the team leader in blocks, and ranks third in the NEC, averaging 1.44 per contest. Sophomore guard Jon Williams and senior guard Matty McConnell control the team's offense, while McConnell adds pressure on defense, as he ranks third in the NEC in steals per game.
- Following Saturday's contest, the Blackbirds have an unusual six-day break before they resume NEC action. Next week, LIU will switch to a Saturday-Monday schedule instead of the normal Thursday-Saturday, in part because of LIU's ESPN3 doubleheader on Monday, January 21st. The Blackbirds resume NEC action hosting Fairleigh Dickinson, Saturday, January 19 at 4:30 p.m.