BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Long Island University men's basketball team picked up their first Northeast Conference win at home Thursday night in the Steinberg Wellness Center, beating Central Connecticut State, 90-78. The win was a total team effort, as five players scored in double digits, and the Sharks (6-9, 1-1 NEC) powered past a feisty CCSU team (1-15, 0-3).
 
Senior Raiquan Clark led scoring, with 22 points, while senior Julian Batts chipped in a season-high 20 points in the win, including going 6-for-9 from three-point range. Junior Ty Flowers added 19 points, while sophomore Virshon Cotton and Jermaine Jackson Jr. had 12 points each.
 
"I love that we came out with a win," head coach Derek Kellogg said after the game. "In league play, I think every team comes out and gives it their all. That was a hard fought W against a young, feisty, tough Central Connecticut team, who I thought gave us everything we could handle tonight. But I thought our guys showed resiliency until the end; we made some plays, made our free throws, and we got great leadership from our seniors and our back court coming down the stretch."
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
CCSU jumped out to an early lead Thursday night, taking an 8-4 advantage in the first three minutes. The two teams were close for much of the first half. Flowers and Clark would have back-to-back layups that gave the Sharks a seven-point lead, 30-23 with 8:56 to play in the first half, but CCSU answered with a 9-3 run that brought them back within one point. LIU held a narrow lead, 46-42 at the halftime break.
 
The Blue Devils didn't lighten up in the second half, opening the stanza on a 6-2 run that tied it up at 48-48. The two teams continued to battle from there, and CCSU tied it up twice more, including 69-69 with 6:33 to play.
 
But 18 seconds later, senior Julian Batts would hit one of his six threes, giving the Sharks a72-69 lead, and it was the spark that the home team needed. CCSU would come back within one point with four minutes left, but LIU was able to answer, and widen the lead back up. Sophomore Virshon Cotton had the momentum-changing play at the three-minute mark, when he made the fast break layup and drew the foul. And two minutes after that, junior Ty Flowers hit the clincher. With the shot clock winding down, Cotton dribbled through traffic on the baseline and kicked it out to Flowers in the corner. With one second left on the shot clock, Flowers hit an off-balance fade away three-pointer that swooshed in, stymying whatever momentum was left for the Blue Devils, as LIU would continue on to take the win, 89-78.
 
SHARK BITES

• Senior Raiquan Clark was the team's top scorer, as he had 22 points, going 7-for-10 from the field, and 8-for-11 from the free throw line.
• Senior Julian Batts was a danger from long distance Thursday, as he had a season-high 20 points, including shooting 6-for-9 from three-point range. He also had six rebounds and three assists.
• Junior Ty Flowers was a box-score filler for the Sharks once more, as he had 19 points, 9 rebounds, five assists and a steal.
• Sophomores Virshon Cotton and Jermaine Jackson Jr. each had 12 points in the win.
• The Sharks shot 54.7 percent from the field in the win, and 77.3 percent from the free throw line.
• CCSU out-rebounded LIU, 34-25, and also shot over 50% from the field.

 
UP NEXT
LIU will host Fairleigh Dickinson for an NEC doubleheader, Saturday, January 11^th. The women tip off at 2 p.m., with the men's team taking on the Knights at 4:30 p.m.