BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – The Long Island University men's basketball team won their third straight game Wednesday night, as the Sharks (8-9, 3-1 NEC) beat St. Francis Brooklyn, 69-66. LIU rallied from a ten-point deficit at halftime in the Pope Physical Education Center, thanks to four different players scoring in double digits, and a 51.7 percent effort from the field in the second stanza.
 
COACH KELLOGG ON THE WIN
"I thought it was a great college basketball game," Coach Derek Kellogg said. "Two teams that fought really hard. We were very, very fortunate to come out with a victory. I thought that out seniors Julian Batts, Jashaun Agosto and Raiquan Clark did an excellent job, especially in the second half, and it was nice to see Virshon Cotton come through with some big baskets. We're excited. It's a nice three-game winning streak, and hopefully we can build on that on this nice long road trip."
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
The game was close for the first four minutes of action, with LIU taking an early 6-5 lead. But the Terriers would go on a hot streak, scoring 10 unanswered points to take a commanding lead. St. Francis held on to that lead for the rest of the first half, despite LIU's best attempts to come back. Every time the Sharks would get within striking distance, the home team would go on a scoring spree and widen the lead back up. SFBK led at the halftime break, 39-29.
 
A different LIU team came out of the locker room to start the second half. Senior Raiquan Clark went on a one-man scoring spree in the first minute, scoring five points right off the bat. Two minutes later, senior Julian Batts would score five points of his own, along with a three pointer from Virshon Cotton that brought LIU within one point, 45-44. SFBK managed to hold on to the lead, but only for another minute and a half. At 15:23, LIU started a run that put the game in the Sharks' hands for good.
 
LIU got hot, and put together a 15-0 run, including back-to-back threes from Batts and Cotton and one from sophomore Jack Ballantyne. The spree put LIU back on top, and they would finish the run at the ten-minute mark, up 59-50 on the home team. Three minutes later, St. Francis had a quick comeback, scoring seven unanswered points to tie it up, 63-63, with 3:43 to play. But 30 seconds later, Batts hit a three that put the Sharks up once more, 66-63. And with under a minute left, he hit a driving, one-handed scoop layup as the shot clock buzzer sounded, that gave LIU a 68-63 lead, and cemented the momentum on LIU's side of the court.
 
SFBK could not come back from the shift, and LIU took the win, 69-66, to move to 3-1 in the Northeast Conference.

SHARK BITES

• Senior Raiquan Clark led LIU with 17 points.
• Senior Julian Batts had 15 points, all in the second half, including going 3-for-5 from three-point range.
• Junior Ty Flowers had his seventh double double of the season, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He also had three steals, two blocks and two assists.
• Sophomore Virshon Cotton added 10 points, going 4-for-9 from the field in the win. And senior Jashaun Agosto had eight rebounds, a team-high five assists and six points.
• Every Shark that went in the game scored for LIU.
• Deniz Celen and Rob Higgins led the Terriers with 20 points each, while Unique McLean scored 15, counting for the majority of SFBK's points.
• The Terriers out-rebounded the Sharks, 45-32.
• In the second half, LIU shot 51.7 percent from the field, to SFBK's 33.3.

 
UP NEXT
LIU is on the road for the next two games, traveling north to take on Bryant this Saturday, before a midday double header with the women's team at Wagner on Monday.