Long Island University Athletics

Box Score

Brooklyn, N.Y. –The fourth-seeded Long Island University men’s basketball team held on for a 63-61 win over fifth-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in a Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals matchup on Thursday night at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. The Blackbirds were able to overcome an early 12-point deficit with the help of a career-high five three-pointers from sophomore Michael Culpo and a career-high 15 rebounds from freshman Jamal Olasewere. LIU improves to 14-16 on the season and will travel to face top-seeded Quinnipiac on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.  FDU finishes the season with an 11-21 record.

 

The Knights scored the first nine points of the contest and took a 13-1 lead following a jumper by junior Mike Scott. The Blackbirds, meanwhile, missed their first seven shots and did not connect for their first field goal until junior David Hicks hit a layup 4:04 into the game.

 

A three-pointer by Scott made it 20-12 before a three-pointer by Culpo opened a 11-0 run for LIU. A layup by freshman Kenny Onyechi gave Long Island its first lead of the night at 21-20 and two foul shots by Hicks pushed the lead to three points. Senior Alvin Mofunanya ended FDU’s drought with a dunk and a quick 10-2 spurt ended with a layup by junior Kamil Svrdlik to make it 30-25. The Blackbirds rallied before the half as senior Jaytornah Wisseh hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two points and then tied it with 1:02 left in the half to make it 32-32 at the intermission.

 

The second half was tightly contested before Long Island forged ahead with 12 straight points as part of a 14-2 run midway through the period. A three-pointer by senior Sean Baptiste gave FDU a 49-44 lead – its last of the night. Back-to-back field goals from Olasewere and Hicks trimmed the deficit to 49-48 before Culpo hit consecutive three-pointers to put the Blackbirds ahead, 54-49. Hicks tacked on a pair of foul shots to give LIU a seven-point lead with 7:10 to play.

 

A layup by Grier interrupted the run before sophomore Booker Hucks put back a missed shot and Wisseh followed with a pair of free-throws to make it 60-51 with 6:12 remaining. The Knights cut the deficit to one with eight straight points. A foul shot by Wisseh made it 61-59 before Grier tied it on a layup with 2:11 left.

 

Onyechi put the Blackbirds ahead with 1:48 to play and the Blackbirds were able to hold on as the Knights missed their final seven shots from the field.

 

Culpo led all scorers with 15 points, hitting 5-of-8 from three-point range. Olasewere chipped in with 14 points to record his third double-double of the year. Hicks added 11 points, while Wisseh and Onyechi each scored 10 points. Wisseh also gave out five assists as the Blackbirds were able to overcome just 33.9 percent shooting by committing just nine turnovers and holding a 44-39 edge on the glass. LIU also hit 15-of-20 at the foul line, while FDU was just 6-of-9.

 

Scott led the way with 13 points and seven assists. Grier added 13 points of his own, while Svrdlik scored 12 points. Mofunanya finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Knights shot 39.1 percent from the field.

 

The win put LIU into the conference semifinals for the first time since 2005. The Blackbirds will face top-seeded Quinnipiac, which they lost to by a score of 80-72 on Feb. 13 in the regular season.

 
LIU will sponsor a fan bus for Sunday's game. All fans interested in travelling to the game can sign up in the athletics office or call (718) 488-1030 on Friday, March 5, to sign up. The cost will be $5.00 for a ticket and the bus ride.

“It’s all about poise, it’s a 40-minute basketball game. I thought FDU came out with great energy and quickness. We missed a couple of layups early that led to transition baskets for them. I think once our guys got settled in, we kind of chipped away and settled into the game.”

 

“I’m really excited for Jaytorah. He’s been a great player here and with some bad luck at certain times we hadn’t gotten out of that first round. So for him to advance to the semifinals and really make a run at this conference championship I really feel good for him.”

 

“For this group to be one of the youngest teams the country and to respond the way they did with the adversity we had at the beginning of the season, now to advance to the semifinals of this conference championship is a great experience for them.”

 

“After the first couple of minutes it became a regular basketball game. We cooled down and we got our composure and we just played the game.”

 “I just felt comfortable, I was shooting it well in warm-ups and my teammates found me. I kept shooting and it kept going in.”