BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team hosts Northeast Conference foe Sacred Heart at home this Saturday, February 16, in a single home game at the Steinberg Wellness Center slated to tip off at 2 p.m.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- The Blackbirds (11-14, 5-8 NEC) will be looking to stop a two-game losing skid as they enter the final three weeks of NEC action.
- LIU fell to St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night, in the 44th Annual Battle of Brooklyn at the Pope PE Center, 83-76. Sophomore Ty Flowers had a game-high 22 points, going 9-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from three-point range. He also had eight rebounds.
- Junior Julian Batts added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while senior Raiquan Clark had 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Eral Penn had eight points, and tied his career high with four blocks, while junior Jashaun Agosto had eight points. Every player scored for the Blackbirds in the loss.
- The Blackbirds lead the all-time series with Sacred Heart, 25-12, including winning four of the last five meetings. But Sacred Heart took the most recent win, beating LIU in the NEC season opener earlier this year at home. LIU led with just over a minute left to play in the contest, but couldn't finish it out, falling to Sacred Heart, 79-75. Senior Raiquan Clark led the Blackbirds in the loss, putting up 28 points.
- First half shooting proved to be the difference in the end the first time the two teams met. Both teams were over 50 percent from the field in the first stanza, but SHU shot 63.6 percent from behind the arc, compared to LIU's 8.3 percent. In the end, the Blackbirds shot just 20 percent from three-point range, along with 47.1 percent from the free throw line (8-for-17).
- Since that game, SHU has done well in the NEC, and currently sits in a tie for second place with Robert Morris, as both teams are 8-5. Most recently, the Pioneers beat Bryant on the road, 105-104 Thursday.
- Up next for the Blackbirds is a swing through the PA contingent of the NEC. LIU will take on Robert Morris, Thursday, Feb. 21 and Saint Francis U., Saturday, February 23.