STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – A late shot didn't go the way of the Sharks Friday evening in the Spiro Sports Center, giving the LIU men's basketball team a 76-74 loss to Wagner. With the loss, LIU is now 4-2 in NEC action.
 
SHARK BITES

• Wagner jumped out to an early 10-5 lead, but LIU would come back scoring five quick points in under a minute to tie it back up, 10-10. The pattern stuck. Every time the Seahawks would build a lead, LIU would rally back to tie it up.
• Wagner would go up by as many as seven (31-24), but with a minute and a half left in the first half, the Sharks retook the lead, 36-35, and would lead at the halftime break, 39-37.
• At the start of the second half, momentum was on the side of the Sharks, and they would take a six-point lead, 45-39 on a fast break layup from Virshon Cotton at 17:48. Just over a minute later, Cotton would add another layup as a part of a 10-3 run by the Sharks, who's lead had widened to 52-42.
• LIU held on to that lead until 9:39, when Wagner tied it back up, 59-59. From there, neither team would lead by more than three points, and stayed close for the remainder of the half. The Sharks would use a three-pointer from senior Ty Flowers at 2:06 to take the lead, 74-71, but Wagner came back to tie it up at 74, and a jump shot with three seconds left put the home team on top. LIU would have a late look, but it didn't fall, and Wagner took the 76-74 win.
• Sophomore Alex Rivera and junior Eral Penn led LIU with 15 points each. Junior Virshon Cotton chipped in 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while senior Ty Flowers and junior Jermaine Jackson Jr. added 11 points each.
• Up next, LIU takes on local rival St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday, January 21 at 7 p.m. in the Steinberg Wellness Center.