BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team will host borough rival St. Francis Brooklyn Monday afternoon, in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup that will air on ESPN3. The two teams will face off at 3 p.m. on Monday, January 21 in the Steinberg Wellness Center, following a 12 p.m. contest between the two women's teams.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- LIU (9-8, 3-2 NEC) team trailed by as many as 10 points Saturday, but the Blackbirds put together a total team effort to come from behind and beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 79-77. LIU had four players score in double digits in their second-straight home win.
- The Blackbirds won with the help of 18 second chance points, as LIU out-rebounded FDU by a margin of 40 to 25. The Blackbirds had 17 offensive rebounds, one of their highest team totals this season.
- Senior Raiquan Clark notched his third double double of the season, with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also had five assists and a block. Sophomore Eral Penn had a career-high 12 points in the win, shooting 6-for-6 from the field. He added nine rebounds and two blocks.
- Sophomore Ty Flowers had 18 points, including four threes, along with three rebounds and two steals. Senior Raul Frias had 13 points for the Blackbirds, while junior Julius van Sauers had nine points, three rebounds, two steals and a block, and junior Jashaun Agosto had a game-high eight assists for LIU, along with six rebounds, five points and two steals, playing all 40 minutes.
- St. Francis Brooklyn enters Saturday's game with an 11-7 overall record, and a matching 3-2 record in the Northeast Conference. The Terriers have also won two straight, having beaten Sacred Heart, 92-85 and Saint Francis U., 72-68. Robert Morris and Bryant are the two NEC teams who have handed SFBK a loss this season. The Terriers are 7-1 at home this year, and 4-5 on the road.
- St. Francis is led by sophomore guard Jalen Jordan, who averages 16.3 points per game, good for fifth in the NEC. Senior guard Glenn Sanabria adds 12.5 ppg, while sophomore guard Chauncey Hawkins is averaging 11.3 ppg.
- All-time, the Blackbirds lead the history rivalry that dates back to 1928, 68-42. LIU has won five of the last seven matchups, including two of the last three. SFBK had an early February win at home last year, beating the Blackbirds 84-79, but then LIU won at home, 81-76 to help clinch a No.4 seed in the NEC tournament. The Blackbirds hosted No. 5 seed SFBK in the quarterfinals, and had an emphatic 73-50 win, behind 26 points from then-senior Joel Hernandez.
- Up next, the Blackbirds have a short turnaround time, with just three days before they head south to take on Mount St. Mary's, Thursday, January 24 at 7 p.m.