BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Long Island University men's basketball team dropped their home opener to UMass Lowell Friday evening, 87-74. The Sharks were led by 21 points from
Raiquan Clark, and a near triple-double from junior
Ty Flowers, who had 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks. UMass Lowell was led by 51 points from graduate student Christian Lutete.
GAME BREAKDOWN
The Sharks jumped out to an early lead in the game, going up 6-0 on the River Hawks, and forcing the visiting team to call a timeout. LIU would eventually lead by as many as 12 points, when a layup from Clark put the home team up, 25-13. But over the next eight minutes, Lowell battled back. The visitors put together a 19-4 run that lasted nearly eight minutes, and gave them the lead for the first time all day, 32-29. Senior
Julian Batts would hit a three pointer at 3:17 that gave the Sharks back the lead, 34-32, but the River Hawks ended the half on a 5-0 run that gave them the 41-38 advantage at the break.
In the second half, LIU came out with strength, as Flowers hit a three to tie it up at 41. Just a few minutes later, sophomore
Virshon Cotton hit a three that would put the Sharks back on top, 46-45, with 17:10 to play. Three minutes later, sophomore
Jack Ballantyne would hit his first basket in an LIU uniform, a three-pointer that put the home team up, 53-50. But LIU couldn't maintain the momentum. In the final three minutes of the game, UMass Lowell would finish on a 9-2 run, giving them their widest lead of the game, and putting the visiting team on top at the end, 87-74.
SHARK BITES
- Senior Raiquan Clark led LIU with 21 points, shooting 9-for-12 from the field.
- Junior Ty Flowers had 19 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, and a career-high eight blocks, falling just short of the first triple double in LIU basketball history. He also had three steals in 40 minutes of action.
- Senior Julian Batts had nine points, while Cotton and Agosto added eight points each.
- Christian Lutete led UMass Lowell with 51 points, going 7-for-12 from three-point range, and 12-for-13 from the free throw line. Obadiah Noel had 21 points and 13 rebounds for his team's only double double.
- The River Hawks out-rebounded LIU 47-36, scoring 23 of their points on second chance.
UP NEXT
LIU hits the road, heading south to take on George Mason, Wednesday, November 13 at 7 p.m.
