LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Long Island University men's basketball team capped their 41-day road swing with a tough loss in Alumni Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, as Rider (6-2) beat LIU (3-7), 89-74. The Broncs had four players score in double digits in the win, including two players who had 20+ point efforts. LIU was led by 21 points from redshirt senior Raiquan Clark, while senior Julian Batts added a season-high 18 points.
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
LIU jumped out to an early lead in the game, behind threes from Clark, Batts and junior Ty Flowers, 11-7. But as they would for most of the rest of the game, the Broncs would answer with a run. The home team scored nine unanswered points to take a 16-11 lead with 12 minutes left, but LIU would answer with a run of its own. Clark would score six straight points, and sophomore Jack Ballantyne hit a three, and the Sharks led, 20-17 with nine and a half minutes to play.
 
In the final five minutes of the half, however, Rider would string together a 12-3 run that eventually put them up, 38-27, and they led at the halftime break, 40-31.
 
LIU came out on a strong note in the second half, but wasn't able to make up ground. A three-pointer from Batts and a layup from Agosto would keep them down by nine, 49-40, but the Sharks couldn't get any closer. Rider began to widen the lead for good, with a 12-0 run that spanned three minutes and put the home team on top, 61-40. That run proved to be a part of a larger run by the Broncs, as they would outscore LIU 22-5, and eventually take a 69-43 lead with just over eight minutes to go.
 
Less than a minute later, Batts and sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. would go to work. Over the next two minutes, the duo would single-handedly go on a 15-2 run that cut the lead back down to 73-61 with five minutes to play. Ballantyne would also chip in back-to-back three pointers in the final minute of the game to help LIU close the gap, but Rider pulled out win in the end, 89-74.
 
SHARK BITES

• Raiquan Clark led the Sharks, with 21 points and nine rebounds. The senior went 7-for-13 from the field, including 6-for-9 from the charity stripe.
• Senior Julian Batts had a season-high 18 points, going 6-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-4 from long range. He also had four rebounds.
• Sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. added 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while junior Ty Flowers had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.
• Rider out-rebounded LIU, 57-36, scoring 24 of their points on second chances. The Broncs also had 22 points off of LIU turnovers.

 
UP NEXT
After a 41-day journey, the Sharks will finally return to downtown Brooklyn to play in the Steinberg Wellness Center, Friday, December 20. But it won't be an easy task, as LIU is set to play host to the University of Delaware, who is 9-1 so far this season.