BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team put on a shooting clinic in the Steinberg Wellness Center Thursday night, beating Central Connecticut State, 84-55. With the win, the Blackbirds clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference postseason tournament, and improved to 14-15 on the season, and 8-9 in NEC action.
 
LIU was led by strong outside shooting from junior Ashtyn Bradley, who made six of LIU's 16 three pointers, en route to a new career high of 18 points. The Blackbirds shot 55 percent from three-point range in the first half, making 11 of their 16 threes in the first stanza.
 
Early in the game, the two teams were close. CCSU, who was playing without senior guard Tyler Kohl, was able to tie it up, 8-8 with just over 14 minutes left in the first half. But senior Raul Frias provided a spark for LIU coming off the bench, starting at 13:49, when he made his first three-pointer. Frias's three was the first basket in what would end up being a 21-4 run by LIU that spanned the next six minutes, and including three three-pointers from Frias and two from sophomore Ty Flowers.
 
Two minutes later, Bradley would hit back-to-back three pointers that gave the Blackbirds a 37-17 lead on the Blue Devils with 4:50 to play. Junior Julius van Sauers would add a three at 4:06, and Bradley would add his third at 2:59, that put the Blackbirds up, 43-19. Frias would hit two more three pointers in the final 45 seconds of the half, giving LIU a 49-23 lead at the break.
 
In total, LIU made 11 threes in the first half on 20 attempts, shooting 55 percent from long distance.
 
LIU's shooting would slow in the second stanza, but it wouldn't slow enough for CCSU to make up any ground. After the visiting team opened the second half on a 5-2 run, the Blackbirds would answer but scoring 10 unanswered points by four different players to widen the lead to 61-28, the widest of the game.
 
Though CCSU fought to stay in it, the Blue Devils would struggle to make shots, averaging just 32.2 percent from the field.
 
Bradley would add three more three-pointers late in the second half, when he made back-to-back-to-back threes to give the Blackbirds an 80-48 lead with 4:50 to play. And with less than a minute left, junior Ganlandou Cisse added a fast break dunk to make the final score 84-55 in favor of the Blackbirds.
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Junior Ashtyn Bradley had a career-high 18 point in just 15 minutes of play, going 6-for-8 from three-point range. He was just two three pointers away from LIU's record for threes in a game, of eight, set by LIU Hall of Famer Charles Jones in 1998. Bradley also had three steals for LIU.
• Senior Raul Frias also flirted with the program's single-game record, as he had five three-pointers for 15 points. He also had five steals on defense.
• Sophomore Ty Flowers had 13 points for the Blackbirds, along with 10 rebounds, for his eighth double double of the season. Flowers also had four blocks, four assists and two steals for LIU.
• Junior Jashaun Agosto had 12 points, going 6-of-10 from the field, and ldd the Blackbirds with six assists.
• 10 of the 12 players who went in the game for the Blackbirds scored points in the win.
• LIU made 16 three pointers, just five shy of the program record of 21. The Blackbirds also had 15 steals on defense, and seven blocks as a team, while limiting themselves to 12 turnovers.
• CCSU was forced into 25 turnovers in the game, and shot just 32.2 percent from the field. But the Blue Devils outrebounded LIU in the contest, 45-39.
• Up next, the Blackbirds host Bryant for Senior Day, Saturday, March 3 at 4:30 p.m. as a part of a double header with the women's team.