BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Long Island University men's basketball team won a hard-fought battle against Saint Francis U. in the Steinberg Wellness Center Thursday night, 86-81. The Sharks (10-10, 5-2 NEC) were led by a trio of players who all had 20+ point performances: senior
Raiquan Clark (28 points, 13 rebounds), sophomore
Jermaine Jackson Jr. (24 points, 7 assists) and junior
Ty Flowers (21 points, three blocks). It was the first time in nearly a decade that LIU had three players score 20+ points in the same game.
COACH KELLOGG ON THE WIN
"I thought it was a great game both ways, with high energy and huge offense," Coach
Derek Kellogg said after the game. "I loved the way
Jermaine Jackson Jr. played for us tonight. I thought he came up with some huge baskets. It was a great team effort; we had
Ganlandou Cisse come off the bench, and
Ousmane Ndim gave us a boost. It was nice to see different players step up and help our team. I'm really happy to beat a very, very, very good Saint Francis team."
GAME BREAKDOWN
LIU is now 7-2 on the season when the other team scores first, and Saint Francis did just that Thursday, opening scoring with a long jumper. The Red Flash continued the hot shooting streak, taking an 11-4 lead on the Sharks in the first five minutes of action. Sophomore
Virshon Cotton would make back-to-back threes that help give LIU the lead with 13:30 to go in the first half, 15-13.
But then, things seemed to fall apart for LIU. Saint Francis went on a 15-0 run that gave them a commanding lead with just over nine minutes left in the first half, 20-18. The Sharks didn't back down, however, and starting to claw their way back over the next few minutes. LIU would get on a hot streak, led by senior
Raiquan Clark, and SFU would struggle to make shots. The Sharks would string together a 17-3 run over the final nine minutes of the half, including 11 from Clark, in an effort that would give the home team a 35-33 lead at the halftime break.
LIU kept the pressure on coming out of the break, using a 10-2 run to widen the gap to ten points, 52-42 at 14:29. Saint Francis never backed down, and using a series of small runs, the Red Flash would mount a comeback of their own midway through the second half. Runs of 8-3 and 8-2 over six minutes in the middle of the period would result in SFU cutting the lead to just three points, 69-66, with 5:07 to play. And two minutes later, the lead was down to just one point, 76-75 with 2:04 on the clock. The final two minutes of the game were close, with SFU coming back to tie it up twice, including 81-81 with just 24 seconds to play. But Jackson would seal the deal for the Sharks with 3.5 seconds left, when he made a huge three-point shot to put the home team on top for good. Clark would clinch it with two made free throws in the final second, and LIU took the win, 86-81.
SHARK BITES
- Redshirt senior Raiquan Clark led LIU with 28 points, including going 9-for-13 from the free throw line. He also had 13 rebounds for his sixth double double of the season, along with three assists, two steals and a block.
- Sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. had 24 points and a team-high seven assists in the win. 21 of his points came in the second half for the Sharks. He went 8-for-16 from the field, including five three pointers, and also had five rebounds.
- Redshirt junior Ty Flowers had 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Sharks, going 9-for-13 from the field.
- Sophomore Virshon Cotton added nine points in the win.
- SFU was led by 26 points from guard Isaiah Blackmon, while Tyler Stewart and Keith Braxton added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
- Up next, LIU takes on Robert Morris at home, Saturday, January 25 at 4:30 p.m.
