MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team begins a crucial swing through Pennsylvania, taking on two of the top teams in the Northeast Conference, with just two weeks left in the regular season. The Blackbirds open the swing playing Robert Morris, Thursday, February 21 at 7 p.m. LIU (12-14, 6-8 in the NEC) is currently in seventh in the league standings, while the Colonials (13-14, 8-6 NEC) have moved into a tie for second place, having dropped their last three straight games.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- LIU put on a dominating performance in the Steinberg Wellness Center Saturday afternoon, beating Sacred Heart in a big NEC game, 92-84. The Blackbirds had nine different players score in the win, including two 20-point performances from sophomore Ty Flowers and senior Raiquan Clark, who each put up 24 points. LIU led Sacred Heart by as many as 21 points in the contest, leading for most of the afternoon.
- Junior Jashaun Agosto had 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior Julian Batts added 10 points. Sophomore Eral Penn the first start of his collegiate career, and had seven points and five rebounds. The Blackbirds had several sparks off the bench, including five points from junior Ashtyn Bradley, who played a career-high 17 minutes, and freshman Ousmane Ndim, who had two points and one rebound in four minutes of play.
- Last time the two teams faced off, LIU took the win, ending RMU's NEC unbeaten streak. The Blackbirds beat previously unbeaten Robert Morris, 80-73. The game was close throughout, with 11 lead changes.
- All-time, RMU leads the series between the two teams, 32-45, including four of the last five and six of the last eight. LIU's win earlier this season was the first win over RMU for the Blackbirds since January of 2017.
BLACKBIRD BITS
- Thursday's game is a homecoming of sorts for junior Julian Batts, who grew up in nearby Jeanette.
- Ty Flowers had five blocks in LIU's win over Sacred Heart. It was a new career-high for the sophomore, and the first time an LIU player had five blocks in a game since EJ Reed did it in 2014.
- Junior Jashaun Agosto is in the hunt to become the 37th LIU Brooklyn basketball player to join the 1,000-point club. The Seattle native currently has 995 career points, and is averaging 9.8 points per game.
- Senior Raiquan Clark is now chasing former teammate Joel Hernandez on the all-time scoring list. Clark has 1,331 points, ranking him 19th on LIU's all-time list. He's just 16 points behind Hernandez, who finished his career with 1,347 points, and ranks 18th all time.