BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU men's basketball had a successful home court debut in 2021, beating Saint Francis U. for the second straight night, this time by a resounding 71-58. The Sharks were led by junior Eral Penn's 20 points and 12 rebounds, as they start the season with a 3-1 record.
 
SHARK BITES

• LIU got off to a 15-8 lead in the first half, and would lead by as many as nine points, but the Red Flash would put together a 12-4 run over six minutes, that cut the lead to a competitive 26-25.
• Junior Virshon Cotton made a late layup to end the half, as the Sharks took a 28-25 advantage into the break.
• SFU took the lead just under a minute into the second half, but a layup from senior Ty Flowers gave the Sharks back the lead, 32-31, which they'd hold for the rest of the night. Flowers' layup sparked a 13-2 run for the Sharks that would widen the gap to 43-33.
• Midway through the second half, the Sharks put together another run that sealed the deal. Over four and a half minutes, LIU used a defensive flurry to push the pace, and would outscore the visitors 14-5, forcing five turnovers in that span and shooting 6-for-9 from the field. Cotton scored seven points in that run, which would eventually put LIU up, 57-41 with 9:39 to play.
• LIU kept its foot on the gas to the end of the period, including widening the lead to 20 points when sophomore Alex Rivera hit one of his four threes with 1:43 to play, 71-51.
• The Sharks took the final win, 71-58, to complete the two games sweep of SFU, and move to 3-1 on the shortened season.
• Junior Eral Penn led the Sharks with 20 points (8-for-13 shooting), along with 12 rebounds, three steals and a block.
• Rivera chipped in a season-high 16 points, going 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-8 from three-point range. He also had two blocks.
• Senior Flowers added 10 points, eight rebounds, a team-high six assists, two blocks and a steal.
• Virshon Cotton had 9 points for LIU, along with two assists and two steals, while junior Jack Ballantyne added nine points as well, with four rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Tre Woof chipped in five assists to go with his six points.
• Up next, the Sharks face off against Wagner on the road, January 14 and 15 at 7 p.m.