BROOKLYN, N.Y. – After spending most of the last two weeks on the West Coast, the Long Island University men's basketball team has returned to New York, but won't come back to Brooklyn just yet. The Sharks are set for two more road games before coming home to host a game in the Steinberg Wellness Center. Up first, LIU will travel north to take on Army, Saturday, December 7 at 1 p.m.
SHARK BITES
- The Sharks capped their ten-day road trip with a win Friday, beating Cal Poly in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational consolation game, 82-69. The Sharks were led by senior Raiquan Clark and junior Ty Flowers, both of whom notched double doubles in the win for LIU.
- Clark was also named to the All-Tournament Team for his play throughout the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.
- LIU shot 54.2 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe against the Mustangs, both season highs for the Sharks.
- Army comes into Saturday's matchup with a 4-3 overall record, riding a single-game winning streak. The Black Knights beat NJIT at home Wednesday night, 75-65.
- Army also beat fellow NEC opponent Fairleigh Dickinson handily in mid-November, downing the Knights, 81-65.
- The Black Knights are led by three players in double figures, but their go-to is senior guard Tommy Funk. He's averaging 13.7 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. The senior also ranks seventh in the nation in assists per game, as he's averaging 7.4 per contest.
- Senior forward Matt Wilson adds 12.7 points per game and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game, while junior guard Tucker Blackwell rounds out the top scorers with a 10.3 points per game average.
- Up next, LIU will travel south to New Jersey, to take on Rider in their last away game of 2019, Saturday, December 14 at 2 p.m.
DOUBLE DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Senior
Raiquan Clark and junior
Ty Flowers are setting themselves up to be one of the more formidable back courts in the Northeast Conference. In LIU's win over Cal Poly, the duo both had double doubles, marking the first time since March of 2017 that two LIU players had double doubles in the same game. Clark finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Flowers had 19 points and 11 rebounds, for his fifth double double of the season.
NEC HONOREE
• Senior
Raiquan Clark earned his first NEC honors of the season on Dec. 2, as he was named NEC Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career.
• Clark enjoyed his time in the City of Lights, registering 26.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in a split for the Sharks. He shot a scorching 68.2 percent from the floor and converted 71.4 percent from outside the arc, making 5-7 over the two games to earn Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament honors.
• Clark, a two-time All-NEC honoree and preseason All-NEC pick, dropped 25 points and snared 12 boards in a three-point loss to North Florida on Thanksgiving. The following afternoon, he scored a season-high 28 points on an efficient 7-9 from the field, and added 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Clark's big week boosted his scoring average to a league-high 21.9 ppg. He also ranks first on the circuit (as of Dec. 2) in field goal percentage (.612), three-point percentage (.692), effective field goal percentage (.665) and true shooting percentage (.683), and is ninth in rebounding (7.4).
RECKON YOU'RE UP FOR A ROAD TRIP? (PART II)
• Last year, LIU embarked on an epic road trip, covering 13,000 miles in just over a month, including a trip to San Francisco and Milwaukee in one swing, followed by some time in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a part of that non-conference schedule, LIU went 46 days without playing in the Steinberg Wellness Center. From their home game on November 24, 2018 until January 10, 2019, LIU played just one game in their home borough, and it was at Barclays Center.
• This year, LIU came close to replicating that, as they will go 41 days without playing at home. After their season opener at home against UMass Lowell on November 8, the Sharks won't come back to the Steinberg Wellness Center until Friday, December 20, when they host Delaware.
• Mileage-wise, the Sharks rack up 8,399 miles in the month of November, including games at URI, George Mason and Delaware State, along with a ten day trip to San Diego, Calif., Lubbock, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
• If you add in December day trips to Army and Rider, LIU will have racked up 8,639 miles in the first 39 days of the season, playing at home just once during that whole span.
MILESTONE WATCH
• Several Sharks are chasing milestones this season. Clark, with his chase of 2,000 points, is just one. He currently has 1,557 career points, ranking him 10th all time in LIU history. The current all-time leading scorer in LIU history is Jamal Olasawere, who had 1,871 career points.
• Head coach
Derek Kellogg has 191 career wins, just 9 shy of 200.
• Senior
Julian Batts is 186 points away from his 1,000th career point.
• Senior
Jashaun Agosto is 79 assists away from 500, and having reached 1,000 points last season, will look to join a prestigious point guard club.
