BROOKLYN, N.Y. – If you wanted a memorable evening, Saturday in the Steinberg Wellness Center was one for the record books. Multiple times. The Long Island University men's basketball team beat league-leading Merrimack in overtime, 67-64, snapping the Warriors' nine-game winning streak and handing them just their second NEC loss of the season. But that wasn't even the biggest moment for LIU.
A trio of Sharks hit career marks in the win Saturday:
- Senior Raiquan Clark became LIU's all-time leading scorer, with his layup at 4:44 in the overtime period. He passed Jamal Olasewere, and now ranks first in program history, with 1,874 career points so far.
- Redshirt junior Ty Flowers had 25 points and grabbed 27 rebounds. His rebound tally set a new LIU and Northeast Conference record, breaking a mark that had stood since 1983. LIU great Carey Scurry held the previous league and school record of 26 rebounds, set February 2, 1983 against Marist.
- And head coach Derek Kellogg earned his 200th career win as a head coach. And he put it best post game, when he said:
"It was a really good night to be a Shark."
GAME BREAKDOWN
The game was close throughout, as LIU (11-13, 6-5 NEC) and Merrimack (16-9, 10-2 NEC) were essentially tied through the 13-minute mark. The Sharks would use a small 6-0 run, powered by Clark and Flowers, to take a 12-7 lead, but they wouldn't stay up for long. The two teams were within two points of each for the entirety of the first half, until the final seconds, when sophomore
Virshon Cotton made two free throws that put LIU up, 32-29 at the half.
The second half had something else entirely in store. The Warriors came out fighting, opening the stanza on a 9-0 run to take a 38-32 lead. Merrimack would eventually widen that lead to 45-36 with 13 minutes left to play, and it looked like LIU would fall to the newest team in the NEC for the second time in a week. The Sharks didn't stop fighting, however, and answered with an 11-0 run, sparked by Flowers, and capped by a three pointer from sophomore
Jermaine Jackson Jr. The two teams stayed locked from there, until 31 seconds were left. Cotton again hit a late basket, putting the Sharks up, 58-55, but 20 seconds later, Merrimack answered with a three, forcing the game into overtime.
The OT period was one of wild swings. The Sharks opened on a 7-0 run, including Clark's historic points at the 4:44 mark, but the Warriors came back and scored six unanswered points to cut it to 65-64 with seven seconds left to play. But in the end, two late fouls cost the visiting team, as Clark and Jackson would make free throws, giving the Sharks a 67-64 win.
SHARK BITES
- Junior Ty Flowers led LIU with 25 points. He also had a program and NEC record 27 rebounds, along with three blocks in 45 minutes of play. He went 3-for-5 from long distance.
- Senior Raiquan Clark had 20 points, going 7-for-16 from the field. He also had eight rebounds, a team-high five assists, and two blocks.
- Sophomore Ousemane Ndim had three blocks and two points in 16 minutes of action.
- Merrimack had three players in double digits in the loss, led by Jaleel Lord's 17 points. It was the first loss for the Warriors since their NEC opening weekend in early January.
- Up next, the Sharks head north to take on Central Connecticut State, Thursday, February 13 in New Britain, Conn.
