NEC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
LORETTO, Pa. - The LIU Brooklyn men's basketball team looks to continue their postseason journey, traveling west for the semifinal round of the Northeast Conference men's basketball championship tournament Saturday afternoon. The No. 6-seeded Blackbirds will take on top seeded Saint Francis U. in DeGol Arena, Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m., in a game that will air on ESPN3 and NEC Front Row.
NOTES FROM THE NEST
- LIU has won five of their last six games, including an upset win over No. 3 seed Sacred Heart in the first round of the NEC Tournament. The Blackbirds used hot shooting from outside the arc to upend the Pioneers, 71-62, in a huge road win Wednesday.
- Saint Francis U. had a slower finish to their season, but claimed a share of the NEC regular season title, and earned the league's top seed for the tournament, assuring home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Red Flash finished the season with a 12-6 record in league play, and 16-13 overall. Wednesday, SFU eeked out a 67-63 win over No. 8 seed Bryant to make it to the semifinals.
- SFU was picked to finish first in the league's preseason poll, and are led by NEC Coach of the Year Rob Krimmel, and NEC Player of the Year, junior Keith Braxton. Also earning post-season accolades was senior guard Jamaal King, who was named to the NEC's first team, along with Braxton.
- The Blackbirds and the Red Flash have a match-up for the ages. All-time, the two teams have a 39-38 record in a rivalry that dates back to 1963, with LIU holding the most recent win advantage. The Blackbirds won the most recent meeting, February 23, when LIU beat SFU in Loretto, 69-66, but prior to that, the Red Flash had won three of the last four meetings, including beating the Blackbirds in downtown Brooklyn in January, 74-67.
- In that meeting in January, poor outside shooting doomed the Blackbirds. Despite having home court advantage for the first time in over a month, LIU fell to Saint Francis U. in the Steinberg Wellness Center, 74-67. Senior Raiquan Clark would put up 29 points Thursday night, but the Blackbirds couldn't overcome a strong first half by the Red Flash offense.
- LIU struggled to get their offense going in the first stanza, as they shot just 36.4 percent from the field in the first half, and just 3-for-12 (25.0 percent) from three-point range. The Blackbirds finished the game shooting 40.6 percent from the field, but just 21.7 percent from three-point range.
- Clark had a game-high 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting, along with seven rebounds and two steals. Junior Julian Batts had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal for LIU, while sophomore Ty Flowers had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his NEC-leading sixth double double of the year. Flowers, who went 5-for-13 from the field also had a team-high four assists, two blocks and a steal.
- Saint Francis had offensive contributions from nine different players, led by 17 points from Isaiah Blackmon, and 16 points and 13 rebounds from Keith Braxton.
- Conversely, just two weeks ago, the Blackbirds snapped SFU's eight game winning streak, toppling the league-leading Red Flash, 69-66. They also become just the third team this season to beat SFU in DeGol Arena this year.
- The win was a total team effort for LIU, as all eight players that went in the game scored at least four points, and five different Blackbirds had two assists or more in the win. Clark led LIU with 18 points, while Flowers had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
- Senior Raul Frias, and juniors Jashaun Agosto and Julius van Sauers all added eight points for the Blackbirds in the win.
- All eight players that went in the game scored at least four points each for LIU. The Blackbirds shot 47.2 percent from the field as a team, and had 10 made threes to SFU's three.
- The Blackbirds also had five different players with at least two assists in the win.
- Jamaal King led Saint Francis U., with 23 points, four steals and three assists. Mark Flagg added 11 points, while Braxton was held to just 10 points, as the only other player in double digits.
- Up next, the winner advances to the NEC championship, hosted by the highest remaining seed, either No. 4 seed Robert Morris, or No. 2 seed FDU.