LIU Blackbirds Hold On For 96-93 Victory Over NJIT

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

THURSDAY FINAL:

LIU Blackbirds      96

NJIT Highlanders  93

LIU/BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS: Iverson Fleming Provides 22 Points Off The Bench, As Flatbush Hoops Gain Third Victory Of Season Over NJIT Highlanders.

The LIU Blackbirds have so far gotten off to a rough start to their 2013-14 regular season.  They began the month of December with a victory over Norfolk State, but then dropped two straight to Seton Hall and Lehigh.

Sporting an overall 2-6 record, the Blackbirds were back in Newark, New Jersey, this evening to take on the NJIT Highlanders.

At 18:02 of the opening half, NJIT owned a 4-1 lead.  LIU then went ahead 5-4 on a Gilbert Parga lay-up.  After the Highlanders Terrence Smith made it a 6-5 game, E.J. Reed converted at the other end with a layup at 15:22 to put Brooklyn ahead by a 7-6 score.  LIU would never trail again.

At 7:43, Iverson Fleming's layup gave LIU a 29-19 lead, and by 6:17, Jason Brickman's three pointer opened up a thirteen point lead, in a 35-22 game.  Glenn Feidanga's layup at 4:08 gave LIU their largest lead of the half - fourteen points.  Those also just happened to be Feidanga's only two points of the game.  The Blackbirds then closed out the half with a 10-point lead, outscoring NJIT by a 42-32 margin.

The second half was a much more tightly contested affair, and with 1:14 left, NJIT had surged to within 81-78, outscoring the Blackbirds 46-42 to that point in the half.

With just 0:05 left on the clock, NJIT's Terrence Smith's layup made it a 94-93 game in LIU's favor.  But at the other end, Iverson Fleming naturally was fouled, and converted on two clutch free throws to extend Brooklyn's lead by three, while leaving just 0:02 on the clock.  The game then went final with LIU winning 96-93 over the Highlanders.

NJIT outscored the Blackbirds 61-54 in the second half.  They were led by guard Winfield Willis, who led all scorers with 28 points off the bench.  Terrence Smith contributed 14 points in defeat, and Ky Howard was second on the team with 17 points.

Iverson Fleming led the Blackbirds with 22 points off the bench, on an excellent 8/11 shooting from the field, 2/4 from three point range, and 4/4 from the line.  Jason Brickman was next with 21 points, and led all players with 6 assists.

In all, the Blackbirds had six players score in double-digits.  Off the bench, Gilbert Parga contributed another 14 points.  Of the starters, E.J. Reed dropped 12 points, while Landon Atterberry and Gerrell Martin both added 10 points each.

NJIT had more assists than LIU, 17-14, and took more shots from the field.  LIU was 32/55, for a stellar 58.2% from the field.  NJIT was 34/65, for a 52.3% from the field.  Both teams inflicted equal damage from three-point land, but LIU won the battle of the boards, by a 36-24 margin.

Next up, the Blackbirds return to the Ashland Place Gym, where they will host the Lamar Cardinals next Wednesday.  LIU will then play two more games in December before kicking off their in-conference schedule versus St. Francis-Brooklyn in January.



Mike.BTB

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