LIU Blackbirds: Kids From Flatbush Gave Indiana Hoosiers All They Could Handle

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

Game One: LIU Gains First Victory Over St. Peter's

LIU/BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS: Hoosiers Sweat Out Close Victory Over LIU.  Despite Last Second Misses, Senior Jason Brickman Leads Team In Very Spirited Effort.

The Hoops of Flatbush visited iconic Assembly Hall Tuesday evening to challenge the #23 ranked Indiana Hoosiers for the first time in their history.  The Blackbirds were otherwise 2-16 versus Big Ten opponents entering last night's action.  By game's end however, they dropped to 2-17 against the Big Ten.

A home crowd of 17, 472 watched the Hoosiers almost go down in defeat with the ball in LIU's hands.  LIU was seconds away from victory, but in the end, things just didn't work out.  The Flatbush Hoops put in a stellar effort, and can nonetheless leave Assembly Hall with their heads held quite high.

The Hoosiers opened up with Kevin Ferrell launching up an immediate three.  At 19:06, Gerrell Martin put Brooklyn on the board with a pair.

The Blackbirds then went down 2-8 and again by 4-10, before E.J. Reed hit a jumper at 12:46 to give LIU their first lead by an 11-10 margin.  A few minutes later, Jason Brickman's lay-up put Brooklyn ahead by an 18-10 score.

The Blackbirds twice led by as many as nine points times during the first half.

However, with 0:18 left, they only held a 34-33 lead, but a layup by Chris Carter closed out the half with LIU ahead by a 36-33 score over the Hoosiers.

Indiana opened the second half with a lay-up to get within one, and by 17:31, LIU/Brooklyn found themselves down by a point.  But they stayed composed, and at 14:02, D.J. Griggs nailed a pair of free throws to open up another five point lead for the Blackbirds.

Indiana went up again 73-72 with 1:27 left on the clock.  In the last seconds, Jason Brickman unfortunately missed a lay-up with 0:05 left.  He then rebounded a missed free throw at the other end, and heaved up a three point attempt with one second left on the clock, that didn't find net.  Indiana recovered the defensive rebound and the buzzer sounded.

Jason Brickman otherwise played brilliantly in leading his young squad against the famed Indiana Hoosiers.  He tied for game high with 37 minutes, scored 11 points, but shot poorly overall - 3/11 from the floor.  He did however issue a game high 11 assists.

The Blackbirds had four players in double-digit scoring, while the Hoosiers had three.  Troy Joseph led LIU with 16 points.  Gilbert Parga and E.J. Reed both contributed 15 each.  Indiana's Will Sheehey led all scorers with 19 points, while the Hoosiers cleaned up on the boards by a 48-35 margin.  Indiana held the Blackbirds to just 9 offensive rebounds.




Mike.BTB