BROOKLYN, N.Y. — LIU will host Central Connecticut State in Brooklyn on Thursday night (Jan. 30) in what stands to be a spirited battle for the top spot in the NEC.

The Sharks enter the contest at 6-2, good for first place in the conference. CCSU is 5-2, currently slotted in second place.

Things will come to a head on Thursday as the two teams face off in a rematch of a previous Sharks victory on Jan. 12. As part of its 6-0 NEC start this season (the team's best since the 2011-12 season) the Sharks defeated the Blue Devils 54-52 in New Britain, improving to 4-0 at the time. Malachi Davis and Terell Strickland led the way with 12 points apiece.

Now, it will be LIU's turn to protect homecourt. It's been quite the campaign for Davis thus far, who won back-to-back NEC Player of the Week awards in January. He's ascended to become the second-leading scorer in the conference with 16.7 points per game, all while averaging 3.2 assists (a top-ten mark in the NEC) and 1.8 steals (good for fifth-best in the conference). He's scored at least 22 points on seven different occasions this season.

Jamal Fuller is fresh off earning himself an NEC Prime Performer nod this week, currently averaging 12.3 points on the season. Over his last four games, the big man is averaging 17.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

As LIU has looked for a spark amid its strong conference play start, Brent Davis is another player who has risen up to answer the call as of late. The guard has averaged 11.8 points and 2.3 steals through his last four appearances, scoring a season-high 20 points last time out against Mercyhurst on Jan. 26, and swiping a season-high 4 steals against Saint Francis on Jan. 24.

Be sure to catch LIU during Shark Weekend, which begins Thursday night as men's basketball takes on CCSU at 7 p.m., and continues through Saturday, Feb. 1 when the women's basketball team hosts Chicago State at 2 p.m.

Tickets for all LIU home games are available at athletictickets.liu.edu