NEC Semifinals: LIU/Brooklyn hosting Fairleigh Dickinson

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

NEC QUARTERFINALS

Terriers       50

Blackbirds  73

FINAL

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds surfing home court advantage; seeking to extend win streak at WRAC to four games in NEC semifinals against #6 Fairleigh Dickinson.

Bring on the Knights.

With Wednesday's commanding 73-50 victory over neighboring Saint Francis/Brooklyn, the Blackbirds advance to Saturday's Northeast Conference semifinals where they'll face #6 Fairleigh Dickinson.

After jumping out to a 35-23 first half lead over the Saint Francis Terriers, LIU would cruise to a 23-point margin of victory.  

The Blackbirds were 43.9% from the field, and 40% from beyond the three.  Afflicted by poor accuracy, however, the Terriers shot a problematic 27.6% from the field, and just 4 of 21 (19%) from beyond the arch.  The Terriers were credited with just six team assists all game, and were also outworked 33-47 on the boards.

Blackbirds Joel Hernandez led all scorers with 26 points.  Jashaun Agosto contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and led all players with five assists.  Zach Coleman scored seven off the bench, and tied for a game-high ten rebounds.  LIU inflicted particular damage on the run with eleven unmatched fast-break points.

SATURDAY

#7 Fairleigh Dickinson

KNIGHTS

vs.

#4 LIU/Brooklyn

BLACKBIRDS

FROM

Ashland Place

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

The Blackbirds and Knights split their regular season head-to-head match-up, with each team gaining victory on the other's court.

• Dec. 29  FDU 82 @ LIU 71
• Jan. 11   LIU 90 @ FDU 85

Fairleigh Dickinson finished the regular season with a 9-9 conference record, and a 13-17 record overall.  They upset #3 Saint Francis (PA), 84-73, in the quarterfinals improving to 5-12 on the road.

Saturday's game is the Blackbirds fourth consecutive game at the WRAC, where they closed out the regular season with victories over Saint Francis/Brooklyn and Sacred Heart University, then another over the Terriers in the quarterfinals.  They're presently 11-4 at home, and 16-16 overall.

LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds Trends - TeamRankings.com

The #1 seed Wagner Seahawks are hosting #7 Robert Morris in the other NEC semifinal match-up.  Wagner knocked off #8 Central Connecticut State University in their quarterfinal match-up, while the #7 Colonials upended #2 Mount St. Mary's setting up Saturday's showdown at Staten Island.