FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the third time in eight days, an LIU men's basketball player hit a major career milestone. Saturday, it was redshirt senior Raiquan Clark. Clark became the first LIU player ever to score 2,000 career points, and just the seventh in Northeast Conference history. Clark's milestone came in a game without stakes, as the Sharks fell to Sacred Heart, 76-67. The results did not affect either team's postseason standings, and LIU finishes the regular season with a 14-17 record, 9-9 in the NEC.
 
#4 seed LIU will host #5 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the quarterfinal round, Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m.
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
The Sharks led for most of the first half. An early three by senior Julian Batts got LIU on the board, and a three by Ty Flowers at 15:38 put LIU up, 10-6. Clark would hit a layup at 13:16 that gave the Sharks a 16-10 lead, and four minutes later, LIU extended that lead to 10 points. A layup by sophomore Virshon Cotton would make it 23-13 with 8:57 to play.
 
But Sacred Heart would go on an 11-0 run, taking the lead, 24-23 with 5:14 to play. The two teams would stay locked in a close game for the rest of the first half, and SHU led by three at the break, 33-30.
 
In the second half, Sacred Heart would use hot shooting to take a 14-point lead on the Sharks, going up 57-43 with 11:04 to play. LIU would put together a small run, using a three from senior Ashtyn Bradley, and a big dunk by Ganlandou Cisse to cut the gap to eight with 8:46 to go.
 
The game heated up in the final five minutes. A three pointer from sophomore Virshon Cotton would tie the game up, 61-61 with 4:47 to play. Thought Sacred Heart answered with a 5-0 run, another three by senior Jashaun Agosto would cut it to two, 66-64 with 3:41 to go. But Sacred Heart stayed strong in the final minutes, going 8-for-10 from the free throw line as the game wound down, and taking the win, 76-67.
 
SHARK BITES

• Senior Raiquan Clark led LIU with 15 points and five rebounds.
• Junior Ty Flowers had 11 points and seven rebounds, while senior Ashtyn Bradley had nine points.
• Sophomore Jermaine Jackson Jr. had seven points and five assists, while senior Jashaun Agosto had eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
• Aaron Clark (23 points) and EJ Anosike (20 points, 17 rebounds) led SHU in the win. The Pioneers finish with a 19-12 record, 12-6 in the NEC.