SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Long Island University men's basketball team played hard wire-to-wire Friday night at Viejas Arena, but the Sharks could not overcome San Diego State, falling to the Aztecs, 81-64. Senior Raiquan Clark led LIU with his first double double of the season, scoring 10 points and leading the team with 10 rebounds, while junior Ty Flowers had 15 points.
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
Early in the game, SDSU took a lead on the Sharks, but LIU kept it close. Senior Julian Batts would give the Sharks their first lead of the game when he hit a three pointer at 14:13, but the Aztecs would go on a run from there. The home team hit three straight three-pointers as a part of a larger 15-2 run that put San Diego up, 21-9.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Clark and sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. would help cut the lead to 23-15, and in the last eight minutes of the half, LIU would close the gap even further. Senior Ashtyn Bradley would score four straight points in the final two minutes that cut the lead to just four points, 36-32, and the Sharks trailed 38-32 at the halftime break.
 
In the second half, San Diego started on 5-1 run that widened the lead back up to 10 points, but sophomore Virshon Cotton would make a layup and hit a big three-pointer that cut the lead back down to five points, 43-38 with 16:03 to play.  But the Sharks ran out of steam, and saw the home team drive the lead back up to 15 points at the nine-minute mark, and they struggled to mount a comeback from that point on. Twice, baskets from Clark would bring LIU back within single digits, but the Aztecs kept the pressure on, and eventually took the win, 81-64.  
 
QUOTE BOOK

• "They played a good tempo." San Diego State junior forward Matt Mitchell said about LIU. "They play hard, they never quit. You gotta give LIU credit, they came in here and played us tough."
• "I give San Diego State a ton of credit," LIU head coach Derek Kellogg said. "To me, they are an NCAA Tournament team that can advance, and I thought our guys played really hard. In the first half we were very competitive, and I thought it was a good game for our guys as a measuring stick to see where we are against what I see as a top 35-45 teams in the country."

 
SHARK BITES

• Junior Ty Flowers led the Sharks offensively, with 15 points, along with eight rebounds and two assists.
• Senior Raiquan Clark had his first double double of the season, with 10 points and 10 rebounds
• Senior Jashaun Agosto added 10 points, while Jermain Jackson Jr. and Ashtyn Bradley had nine points each, and sophomore Virshon Cotton had eight points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
• The Aztecs had four players score in double digits, led by Matt Mitchell, with 18.
• The Sharks out-rebounded the Aztecs, 35-31. It was the first time this season that any team has beaten the Aztecs on the bords.
• SDSU limited turnovers to just six, while LIU had 21. San Diego scored 26 points off of LIU turnovers.

 
UP NEXT
Up next, LIU continues longest part of the road swing, as the Sharks will spend 10 days on the road over the Thanksgiving holiday as a part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. LIU will next head to Texas to take on #12Texas Tech, Sunday, November 24. From there, all three teams (including San Diego State) head to the Orleans Casino in Vegas, where eight different teams will finish out the tournament. LIU will take on the University of North Florida on Thursday, November 28, before facing off against either Tennessee State or Cal Poly, Friday, November 29.