LORETTO, Pa. — LIU men's basketball took on Saint Francis U. on Saturday afternoon, who were tied for first with FDU for the top spot in the Northeast Conference.
 
The Sharks fell to the Red Flash, 87-68, and moved to 0-5 in NEC play.
 
After trailing by eight to begin, LIU cut the lead to two, thanks to a layup from Cheikh Ndiaye and a three-pointer from Quion Burns.
 
Marko Maletic picked up from where he left off a week ago and drained his first two deep balls.
 
The sophomore entered the weekend 12^th in the NCAA in threes made per game (3.3).
 
The Red Flash led by 11 at the halftime break. Maletic added two more threes and had 12 points to lead all scorers.
 
Andre Washington scored the first five points of the second half for LIU, including an and-one conversion from a mid-range jumper.
 
Saint Francis U. took command during the second half and pulled away quickly.

Maletic finished with 20 points on 6-13 shooting. Washington was the next highest scorer with 15. 
 
With his five triples, Maletic has now connected on five or more threes five times this year. He has only had one game where he failed to connect from beyond the arc.
 
LIU returns to action on Monday at 7 p.m.for the Battle of Brooklyn vs. St. Francis Brooklyn. The game will air on ESPN3 and SNY while simultaneously streaming on NEC Front Row.