BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Long Island University men's basketball team fell to Robert Morris at home Saturday evening, 71-66. The Sharks (10-11, 5-3 NEC) were led by redshirt senior
Raiquan Clark's 21 points, while junior
Ty Flowers had a double double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore
Virshon Cotton had 18 points.
GAME BREAKDOWN
The game was close throughout, as neither team would ever lead by more than six points. RMU and LIU would see the score tied seven times, and the lead change hands 16 times.
RMU jumped out to an early 7-3 lead on the Sharks in the Steinberg Center, but six minutes into the game, LIU put together their first of several runs. LIU would outscore RMU 7-2 over the next four minutes, taking a 14-13 lead with 10:09 to play. A layup from Clark four minutes later would make it 20-17 for the Sharks, and with five minutes left in the half, Cotton would score five straight points to widen the gap to 25-19. RMU would string together a run of its own, but the Sharks finished the half on a 5-0 streak that would give the home team a 30-28 lead at the break.
The second half continued to be a battle, with neither team leading for long. Every time LIU would go up, the Colonials would answer with a run, and vice versa. LIU's largest lead came with 11:45 left to play, when Cotton drained two free throws to make the Sharks' lead 47-41. But RMU would come back to tie it up at 53, and the battle waged on.
The difference came in the final five minutes, when RMU went to the line six times. The Colonials went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe as a part of an 8-1 run that put them up, 66-16 with 3:09 to play. Despite a three from senior
Julian Batts, LIU went 1-for-5 from the field in the final stretch, and Robert Morris clinched the win, 71-66.
SHARK BITES
- Senior Raiquan Clark was 9-for-15 from the field, leading all scorers with 21 points.
- Sophomore Virshon Cotton had 19 points, going 6-for-11 from the field, and 4-for-7 from three-point range.
- Junior Ty Flowers had his 10th double double of the season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks and two assists.
- Sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. had eight points and a game-high seven assists.
- Up next, the Sharks have a seven-day break, before traveling to take on Merrimack, Saturday, February 1st.
