BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU men's basketball team opens the 2020 Northeast Conference Tournament this Wednesday, March 4, as the tournament's No. 4 overall seed. LIU (14-17, 9-9 NEC) will host #5 seed and defending tournament champions Fairleigh Dickinson (11-18, 9-9 NEC).
SHARK BITES
• All time, LIU leads the series, 55-54, including having won four of the last five meetings, and both matchups this year. But as any coach in the league will tell you, it's hard to beat a team three times.
• In the postseason series, the Knights hold a slight edge, 5-4. The last time these two teams met in the NEC tournament was in 2018, the year LIU won it all. The two teams met in the Steinberg Wellness Center, with #4 seed LIU coming out on top, 78-77, in an instant classic. Now-senior
Jashaun Agosto put away a pair of free throws with 3.6 seconds left to go to take the win for LIU.
• The Knights are 3-5 as a No. 5 seed in the NEC Tournament. FDU is 7-3 in NEC playoff games under Coach Herenda.
• The last time the two teams met was February 21 in New Jersey, and the Sharks fended off Fairleigh Dickinson, beating the Knights, 86-81. LIU had three players with 20-point performances, led by
Jermaine Jackson Jr.'s 21 points, while
Raiquan Clark and
Ty Flowers each had 20 points in the win.
• Senior
Julian Batts would hit an NBA-range three as the shot clock buzzer sounded in the final minute of action. Batts' trey would put LIU on top, 84-80, and Cotton would go on to hit two free throws that would ice the win for LIU, 86-81.
• Sophomore
Jermaine Jackson Jr. led LIU with 21 points and five assists. The Michigan native shot 7-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-9 from three-point range. Both
Raiquan Clark and
Ty Flowers had 20 points for LIU. Flowers also had 14 rebounds and two blocks for the Sharks.
Sophomore
Virshon Cotton added 16 points for LIU. Jahlil Jenkins led the Knights with 25 points.
• And prior to that, the two teams faced off in Brooklyn on January 11, with LIU taking the win, 84-70. The Sharks had four players score in double digits, led by 20 points from senior
Jashaun Agosto.
• Senior
Jashaun Agosto notched 20 points in the win for LIU, shooting 9-for-11 from the field. He also had five rebounds and three assists.
• Senior
Raiquan Clark had 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
• Sophomore
Jermaine Jackson Jr. had 14 points, including going 3-for-4 from three-point range, while sophomore
Virshon Cotton added 12 points.
• Junior
Ty Flowers had a team-high 10 rebounds, along with eight points, a team-high five assists, two steals and a block.
• Senior
Julian Batts added nine points, going 3-for-3 from three-point range.
FDU had five players in double digits, but struggled from long range, shooting just 26.9 from three-point territory.
