BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team had an emphatic end to the regular season at home Saturday afternoon, beating Bryant 81-65, for their third straight win. With the victory, the Blackbirds clinched the No. 6 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament. LIU was led by junior Jashaun Agosto's career-high 28 points.
 
The game had a slow start, but eventually the Blackbirds jumped out to an early lead on the Bulldogs, 6-2. The lead would build to 14-7 on Agosto's layup at 11:09, but from there, Bryant started to go on a run. The visitors would outscore LIU, 10-2 over the next three minutes, taking the lead, 17-16. Bryant would eventually increase the lead to five, 25-20 with just over four minutes left to play in the first half, but LIU wouldn't stay down for long.
 
Junior Ashtyn Bradley came in off the bench for the Blackbirds, and with 3:22 on the clock, hit a big three that cut Bryant's lead down to just one point, 25-24. Though Bryant would widen the lead back up to 32-26 with two minutes left in the half, the Blackbirds would finish the stanza on an 8-0 scoring spree to take the lead back. Senior Raiquan Clark would convert a traditional three-point play, and sophomore Eral Penn would make two free throws to close the lead to one, 32-31. It was Bradley who would put the Blackbirds back on top, with a three that gave LIU the lead at the break, 34-32.
 
Coming out of the half, Bryant would retake the lead, but LIU answered quickly. Over three minutes, LIU would score 12 unanswered points, seven of which came from Agosto, giving the Blackbirds a 46-37 advantage with 15:30 on the clock. From there, every time Bryant threatened, LIU would answer to hold on to the lead. At the 12-minute mark, Agosto would spark another run. He made a three, followed by Bradley from long distance, the first six points of what would eventually be a 15-3 run that spanned five minutes and put the Blackbirds on top, 66-48 with seven minutes left.
 
Though Bryant would attempt to chip away, the Blackbirds held on, and a late three from senior Raul Frias made the final score 81-65 in favor of LIU.
 
The Blackbirds, who will be the No. 6 seed in the NEC Tournament, will travel north to take on No. 3 seed Sacred Heart for the quarterfinal round, Wednesday, March 9.
 
 
NOTES FROM THE NEST

• With the win, LIU finished the regular season with a 15-15 record, and 9-9 in the Northeast Conference.
• Jashaun Agosto had a game-high and career-high 28 points, going 9-for-18 from the field, along with five assists and five rebounds.
• Raiquan Clark had 17 points in the win, while Eral Penn and Ashtyn Bradley each added 11 points. Penn also had nine rebounds for the Blackbirds. Sophomore Ty Flowers had nine points and nine rebounds.
• Bryant had four players score in double digits, led by Sabastian Townes with 15 points.
• Up next, the Blackbirds take on Sacred Heart in the NEC quarterfinals, Wednesday, March 9.