HACKENSACK, N.J. —  The LIU men's basketball team traveled to FDU on Thursday afternoon, looking to move up in the NEC standings.
 
The Sharks went down early and were able to cut the deficit down to as little at four at the half. Unfortunately for LIU, FDU shot the lights out after coming back from the break and could never chase down the Knights. The Sharks fell 82-75.
 
Nikola Djapa put together one of his best games in an LIU uniform, scoring 19 points on 7-8 shooting and grabbing a tie for team-high nine rebounds.
 
Tai Strickland kept the hot hand going, scoring a team-high 21 points while recording seven rebounds and three assists. The graduate student is averaging 24.3 points in his last three games.
 
Tana Kopa scored 18 points and made a team-high four three-pointers while playing all 40 minutes for LIU.
 
The Sharks return to the court Saturday when they host Saint Francis U in the Steinberg Wellness Center at 7 p.m.