BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The No.3 seeded LIU men's basketball team had a big win in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference tournament Wednesday night, beating No. 6 seed Sacred Heart, 82-75 in the Steinberg Wellness Center. With the win, the Sharks advance to the semifinals of the NEC Tournament. LIU will take on No. 2 seed Wagner on Staten Island, Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m.
 
COACH QUOTES

• LIU head coach Derek Kellogg: "I think this league is best it has been since I've been here Teams are clawing and fighting. So, anyone who comes away with a championship in the regular season or the conference tournament, I think is a job definitely well done… Our team is ready. I think it'll just be trying to get prepared for Wagner, who beat us here and beat us pretty good at their place. So, hopefully our guys remember that second game and come out like I know they will be ready to play."
   
• SHU head coach Anthony Latina: "I'm proud of our team. I thought we kept fighting…I think when you play a good team like that, you have to give them credit. They hit a couple threes. Ty Flowers, who is obviously a great player, made a huge step back three. And then Rivera, back-to-back threes. And, I think that kind of separated it a little bit, kept us chasing. But I'm proud of our guys; we kept fighting."

 
 
SHARK BITES

• Five different LIU players scored in double digits in the win, led by senior Ty Flowers, who had 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks.
• LIU also had double digit efforts from Isaac Kante (15 points, 8 rebounds), Alex Rivera (15 points), Tre Wood (12 points), and Kyndall Davis (11 points), while senior Eral Penn added nine points and eight rebounds.
• The game was close to start out, with Sacred Heart taking the lead, 13-9 at 14:04. But the Sharks went on a 12-2 run, to retake the lead, 21-15 at 10:36.
• The Pioneers scored seven unanswered points to go up , 22-21, but LIU outscored the visitors, 13-5 in the final six minutes of the half, taking a 37-29 lead into the break.
• SHU kept it close, cutting the lead to just three points, 52-49 with 10:20 to play. But at 8:37, Flower hit a step back three that sparked a momentum shift for the Sharks and the home crowd. Rivera would add a huge step back three two minutes later, and Flowers added a fast break dunk at 6:17 to cap a 7-2 run, and put LIU on top, 60-53.
• Rivera would hit another three with 1:26 on the clock to widen LIU's lead to 72-61, and that made the difference.
• In the final minute of play, Sacred Heart would score eight points from the field, including a late three, but the Sharks went 10-for-13 from the free throw line in that span to seal the win without another made field goal.
• Up next, LIU (16-13) heads across the Verrazano for a semifinal rematch with Wagner, Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m.