NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Long Island University men's basketball team fell to league-leading Merrimack on the road Saturday afternoon, 70-59. The Warriors (15-8, 9-1 NEC) held the Sharks (10-12, 5-4 NEC) to their lowest point total in league play so far. LIU was led by 22 points from senior
Raiquan Clark, as well as a double double from junior
Ty Flowers, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
GAME BREAKDOWN
Merrimack's Northeast Conference-leading defense impacted the game from the start. LIU struggled to get shots up, and the home team pushed out to an 18-8 lead in the first eight minutes. Threes from sophomore
Jermaine Jackson Jr. and freshman
Devin Nicholson would help the Sharks battle back, but the Warriors would widen the lead to 10 once more, 28-18. Towards the end of the first half, LIU would go on a 13-5 run, cutting the gap to 36-31, but Merrimack took the lead into the halftime break, 40-31.
In the second stanza, the Sharks got off to a hot start, outscoring the home team 7-2 in the first two minutes, and closing the lead to 42-38, but six minutes later, the Warriors used a 5-0 run to take a double digit lead on LIU once more, 52-42. As the half ran down, LIU would make small runs, but nothing that was able to make up the difference, as the Sharks couldn't get shots up, and the Warriors would take the win in the end, 70-59.
SHARK BITES
- Senior Raiquan Clark led the Sharks with 22 points, going 6-for-10 from the field and 10-for-14 from the free throw line. With his points Saturday, he moved into second place on LIU's all-time career scoring list.
- Junior Ty Flowers had his 11th double double of the season, with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He also had three blocks and three assists.
- Sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. had 10 points, three assists and three steals for the Sharks.
- LIU took just 13 three-pointers, shooting just 23.1 from long range.
UP NEXT
LIU will get two chances for revenge this weekend, taking on Mount St. Mary's Thursday night, before hosting Merrimack at home next Saturday, February 8.
