LIU Blackbirds ~ NEC Tourney; Wipe Out Sacred Heart. Quinnipiac Next

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH




LIU-BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS:  Jason Brickman and Jamal Olasewere Turn Back the Pioneers.  Quinnipiac Up-Ends St. Francis (NY) to Set-Up Semifinal Match Up.

QUARTERFINAL:

LIU-Brooklyn   80

Sacred Heart    68

The Blackbirds went downtown for Wednesday night's NEC quarterfinal game against Sacred Heart; as in scoring thirty-three points from three-point land.  Nine LIU steals and seventeen Pioneer turnovers overall, resulted in another eighteen points for Brooklyn.

The Pioneers actually held an 8-7 lead at 14:07 of the first half.  But over the remaining portion of the game, Jamal Olasewere and the Blackbirds ensured they'd never lead again.  The Pioneers managed to get within a point of Brooklyn with 7:18 left.  However by 2:32, Brooklyn was up again by fifteen.  The Blackbirds wound up taking an eight point lead into halftime.



Once again, Sacred Heart managed to pull within a point of LIU with the score 41-40 at the 13:37 mark.  But Flatbush proceeded to pull away and were up by seventeen with just 1:43 to go.  Sacred Heart's Shane Gibson scored a game high twenty-two points, while Louis Montes pulled down a game high ten rebounds.  Sacred Heart also out-rebounded Flatbush by a plus ten margin in the losing effort.



Instead, the second half was all Brandon Thompson.  Coming off the bench, he buried a trio of three-pointers and dropped two more from the line for eleven second half points.  Overall, the Blackbirds connected on six shots from downtown in the second half on their way to an 80-68 quarterfinal victory.



Olasewere led Brooklyn scorers with twenty points; dropping eleven in the first half, and another nine in the second.  He also pulled down eight rebounds, blocked two shots, had three steals, and took a game high eight attempts from the foul line in thirty-four minutes played.  The facilitator, LIU's guard Jason Brickman, scored twelve points and distributed a game high thirteen assists.  Julian Boyd (16), Michael Culpo (11), and Michael Thompson (11), made five Brooklyn players in double-digit scoring.




NEC Tournament Quarterfinal Results:

LIU-Brooklyn defeats Sacred Heart  80-68

Robert Morris defeats Monmouth  87-68
I predicted this game would be closer.

Quinnipiac defeats St. Francis (NY)  80-72
*UPSET*   I predicted St. Francis (NY) would win convincingly.

Wagner defeats Central Connecticut State  87-77

Sunday, March 4, 2012

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

Semifinals:

Quinnipiac Bobcats

vs.

LIU-BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS

From,

THE WELLNESS CENTER

Ashland Place, Brooklyn

Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Survive Sacred Heart; Quinnipiac Next

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU-BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS:  Finishing Ain't Easy!

Make that six wins in a row, and 11-0 at home this season.  That's all well and good, but make no mistake, there is nothing easy about defending their 2010-2011 NEC Championship.  Coach Dan Hurley's Wagner Seahawks refuse to lose and continue to leave Flatbush with no margin for error.  That's what made LIU's Thursday night game against Sacred Heart so harrowing, for the Pioneers took the locals into overtime before Flatbush pulled out another game at the Wellness Center, and by doing so, stayed a game ahead of Wagner for first place in the Northeast Conference with three games left in the regular season.

Jamal Olasewere went into Thursday's game already having been named Co-NEC Player of the Week off his 32 point performance against St. Francis (NY).  And against Sacred Heart, he powered the Blackbirds again with a game high twenty-seven points, as well as leading all players in rebounds with eleven.  Joining Jamal Olaswere among Brooklyn's twenty point scorers were Julian Boyd and Michael Culpo who both dropped twenty points each against the Pioneers.  Culpo in particular was deadly from three-point range, burying six of ten shots from beyond the arch.  Jason Brickman distributed a game high nine assists to go along with nine points.

Flatbush and Sacred Heart traded leads ten times in the first half.  With 4:45 left, a three pointer by Pioneer, Shane Gibson, tied the score for only a third time.  But from then on Brooklyn went up by as many as six after a Julian Boyd three-pointer with 0:59 left, and closed out the half with a 40-37 lead.

The second half was nothing short of a problem for the Blackbirds.  After just two and a half minutes into things, Sacred Heart had wrestled the lead from Flatbush, who watched the Pioneers increase their lead to as many as eleven against the home team.  It wasn't until the 7:23 mark that Flatbush was able to tie this game again at sixty-three all off a Michael Culpo three.  The Blackbirds held court again until Shane Gibson buried yet another three-pointer for Sacred Heart to tie the game at eighty-one apiece.

With 0:02 left in the game, LIU had the ball exactly where they wanted it; in the hands of Jamal Olasewere.  But he couldn't nail the game winning shot in regulation.  So, into overtime they went.

The Blackbirds never trailed during the five minute extra session.  By 3:25 left, they built up a double-digit lead and never looked back.  They did some of their best work from the line, shooting 12/15, on their way to outscoring Sacred Heart 22-10 for a 103-91 game final.

And it's a good thing too.  Wagner won their seventh game in a row to improve their Conference record to 13-2, and 22-4 overall.  Brooklyn meanwhile, improves to 20-7 overall, and remains in first place by a game over Wagner with a 14-1 Conference mark.

On the feel-good front, yes, the Blackbirds remain undefeated at home extending a streak that reaches back to last season.  They have now won twenty-three consecutive games at the Wellness Center.  They are 11-0 this season.  Their final home game will be Senior Day, this Saturday afternoon against Quinnipiac.

The Blackbirds will then close out their regular season on the road, where they have not fared as well.  They have a 7-7 record as visitors.  For the Brooklyn Downtowners, their season ends in New Jersey with games against Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth.  As Brooklyn plays Saturday afternoon, Wagner should know the result of LIU's game when they take the court in Staten Island against Fairleigh Dickinson later in the evening.  Then it's off to the road for Wagner as well.  And there's the rub.  While Brooklyn has only played .500 basketball away from the Wellness Center (2-0 in neutral sites), Wagner has excelled on the road this season where they have amassed an 11-2 record.

The Northeast Conference is culminating in a great 'ol race.  Three cheers for NYC Basketball.

Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Defeat CCSU 95-80; Stay Undefeated at Home

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:  Turn Back Central Connecticut State to Remain a Game in First Place.



The Hoops of Flatbush turned back Central Connecticut State to improve their Wellness Center record to 9-0 this season.  Their convincing 95-80 victory makes them 17-7 overall, and 11-1 in the Northeast Conference.  They needed this third consecutive win because Wagner and St. Francis (BK) kept pace with wins of their own, and remain tied for second place with 10-2 records.


CCSU had the game's two high scorers.  Forward Ken Horton led all players with twenty-nine points.  Robby Ptacek followed with twenty-four.  However, five LIU players achieved double digit scoring in leading the Blackbirds to a big first half, and then to a fifteen point margin of victory.  Jamal Olasewere led Flatbush scorers with seventeen points.  Julian Boyd and C.J. Garner chipped in with sixteen points each.  Jason Brickman came in at fourteen points and Michael Culpo added twelve.


Brooklyn made extensive use of their bench this game.  Three players clocked in over fifteen minutes and collectively scored nineteen points.  Kenny Onyechi stepped in and spearheaded a dominant Flatbush effort on the glass.  The Blackbirds out rebounded CCSU 44-26 and in particular cleaned up on the defensive end with twenty-eight boards.  Onyechi pulled down a game high thirteen rebounds in his twenty-three minutes.


Both teams shot equally well from the floor.  But once again, LIU hammered another opponent from the line.  Brooklyn nailed twenty-nine of thirty-one free throws.  CCSU scored seventeen points off twenty-six shots.  CCSU actually led for most of the first eleven minutes of the game.  But once Brooklyn overcame them at 25-23 in the first half, CCSU never held another lead again.  The Blackbirds were up by thirteen at the half, and led by as many as twenty-four points with about eight minutes left in the game.


The Blackbirds will now take their act to a much larger stage.  Brooklyn's two downtown teams; LIU and St. Francis (NY); will start a two game series this coming Wednesday in Madison Square Garden before bringing the series home to Ashland Place in the annual Battle of Brooklyn.






Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Hold Off Bryant; Big Test Saturday

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:   Bulldogs Take a Bite Out of Blackbirds. But Flatbush Tames Bryant With a Better Second Half.

Bryant Bulldogs 2 of 18 shooting from beyond the arch could have been all the difference.

.....It's all in how you look at things.  But it just goes to show;  On any given day any team can be beat.


The Bryant Bulldogs came into the Wellness Center and damn-near turned it into their own personal fun house.  Bryant was 2-20 coming into last night's game and 1-9 in the Conference.  And for that, wound up putting silly looking and puzzled faces on a stunned crowd inside the Ashland Place Gym, as the Bulldogs played toe-to-toe with the first place and defending NEC Champs.


After four lead changes, and the Bulldogs building up to a nine point lead, LIU-Brooklyn came back to take a one point lead into half-time.  Brooklyn steadied themselves in the second half, although Bryant did tie the score on two occasions.  They pulled within 72-70 with 0:11 seconds left in the game.  But Brooklyn buried their free throws to seal the deal.  It turned out to be just enough to secure a 75-70 victory and for many, a huge relief.


The Blackbirds did more with less attempts, shooting 49% for the game and 55% in the second half from the floor.  However they squeezed this game out by being better than Bryant from behind the three, and by going to the line almost twice as many times as the Bulldogs; which incidentally has been a season long recipe.


Otherwise, Bryan outscored LIU from the field and out rebounded them for the game, particularly on their own offensive glass.  Bryant's Alex Francis was the game high scorer with twenty-five points and led all rebounders with eleven.


Jason Brickman was Brooklyn's big man on campus Thursday leading Flatbush scorers with fifteen points while playing in a team high thirty-six minutes.  The Blackbirds had five players in double digit scoring in all.  C.J. Garner and Julian Boyd added twelve points each.  Jamal Olasewere dropped eleven and Michael Culpo netted ten points to round out LIU's top five scorers.


The Ashland Place Gym Rats improved their overall record to 16-7, and 10-1 within the Conference.  With an 8-0 record, they still remain undefeated at home this season.  But for a night anyway, a crisis was narrowly averted.   Lesson learned and point noted.


Next on the docket for the Downtowners is Central Connecticut State (7-4) who are currently tied with Robert Morris for third place of the NEC.  They were 73-67 losers to St. Francis of Brooklyn Thursday which dropped their record to 2-8 on the road.  Saturday's game will tip-off at the Wellness Center at 4:30pm.

SATURDAY

Northeast Conference

Central Connecticut State (7-4)

vs.

LIU-BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS (10-1)

from,

WELLNESS CENTER

Ashland Place, Brooklyn

St. Francis of Brooklyn and Wagner remain hot on the Blackbirds' tails with 9-2 records.  Following LIU's game Saturday against Central Connecticut,  LIU-Brooklyn and St. Francis will bring the Battle for Brooklyn to Madison Square Garden first, before returning to the Wellness Center for the second game of two straight between the downtown borough rivals.






Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Bounce Back Win Keeps Flatbush in 1st

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:   Back on Track and Heading Home.



After suffering their first Conference defeat of the season to Robert Morris, the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds bounced back with an overwhelming 97-76 win Saturday against the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash.  They needed the win to stay a game ahead of a thinning second place pack as Wagner and St. Francis (NY) won their games and improved to 8-2 to keep pace.  Robert Morris couldn't maintain the momentum they gained after defeating Brooklyn and in losing their last game, forged a new tie for third place with Central Connecticut State with 7-3 records


The HOOPS of FLATBUSH improved their NEC record to 9-1, and 15-7 overall.  They still remain one game shy of the .500 mark on the road with a 6-7 record.  But they're coming back home to the Wellness Center now where they still remain undefeated (7-0) this season.  The first of two Downtown games will be Thursday against the last place Bryant Bulldogs.  Then on February 4th, they have a big match-up against Central Connecticut State.


Five Blackbirds ended Saturday's game in double-digit scoring and Michael Culpo almost made it six players with nine points of his own.  LIU nearly doubled St. Francis' effort on the glass, out-rebounding the Red Flash by a 45-24 margin.  Thirty-two of LIU's forty-five rebounds came on the defensive end.  However they turned the ball over nineteen times.  Ultimately, Jamal Olasewere's efforts; nearly 60% team shooting from the field; and a game high twelve assists from Jason Brickman contributed to lead the Flatbush Five over St. Francis.


Jamal Olasewere posted a game high double-double; leading all players with twenty-six points and ten rebounds.  Jason Brickman's twelve assists were also a game high and his personal career best.  Julian Boyd (17); C.J. Garner (10) were the other two starters in double points.  Off the bench, Brandon Thompson cleaned up with eleven points in twenty-three minutes.  He shot 4-4 from the line and pulled down four rebounds.  Kenny Onyechi made the most of his fourteen minutes, contributing twelve points and five rebounds.  All together they combined to get the Blackbirds over the ninety point mark for third time this season.


Eight games remain in the regular season.  And the big Battle for Brooklyn versus St. Francis (NY) still looms just over the horizon.






Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Flatbush Wins 7th Straight; Stay Undefeated in Conference

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:  The Hoops of Flatbush Remain Unbeaten in Their Conference After Defeating the Monmouth Hawks. 

LIU-Brooklyn's Win Streak is up to Seven Games Now.

THURSDAY FINAL:

Fairleigh Dickinson   64

LIU Blackbirds         84

Part of becoming Conference Champs and then defending that title is winning the games you're supposed to win.  That might be a little rough with regards to Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth.   But lets be honest, they've had their troubles this season. 




And Trouble, is what the Blackbirds didn't have last Thursday night as they limited Fairleigh Dickinson to sixty-four points to win their sixth game in a row and remain unbeaten within the Conference.




Brooklyn's downtown college cagers took care of business in the Ashland Place Gym as all five starters finished with double digit scoring.  The night was a balanced effort on all counts.  C.J. Garner was high man with sixteen points.  And of the game's starters, Michael Culpo lagged behind his team mates with thirteen.




I'll tell you what else lagged behind; rebounding.  Fairleigh Dickinson won the battle of the glass 48-45; but to no avail.  They hindered their efforts with fouls and paid for it at the line.  LIU-Brooklyn  shot 27/36 from the line.  With the Blackbirds playing a cleaner game, Fairleigh Dickinson settled for 5/12 from the foul line.  Brooklyn also rained down 6/11 three pointers in the first half on their way to an eight point lead at the break.




With the win, LIU increased their NEC leading record to 5-0 with Monmouth on tap for today; Saturday.  And like Fairleigh Dickinson, the Hawks are struggling as well this season.  They entered Saturday's game with a 1-4 conference record.

SATURDAY FINAL:

Monmouth Hawks   86

LIU Blackbirds      106

Brooklyn showed no mercy and cracked the century mark in points for the second time in six games.  In securing a 106-86 win over the Hawks this afternoon, they are now the proud owners of a 6-0 Conference record.  With a 5-0 record, Central Connecticut State's game against third place Wagner is still yet to be played tonight in Staten Island.




In game two of a three game set at the Ashland Gym, the Blackbirds enjoyed their home-court advantage during a big 63-49 second half, and rode the strength of 64% shooting from the field versus just 49% for Monmouth in the game.  Julian Boyd was the game's high scorer with twenty-eight buckets.  Monmouth's Mike Myers-Keitt was the game's second high scorer with twenty-seven points.




Jamal Olasewere came in at nineteen points and led the team in rebounds with nine.  C.J. Garner added fourteen points and had a game high eight assists.  Jason Brickman added six more assists and along with Garner almost matched Monmouth who totaled just sixteen assists all game.  Michael Culpo and Kenny Onyechi had fourteen points each to place five Blackbirds in double-digit scoring.




LIU remains on par with their competition on the glass.  Unlike last game, they won this battle of the boards 35-31 this time.  But once again, the Blackbirds did their damage at the line, shooting 83% on 25/30 shooting, while Monmouth shot a sketchy 53% on 9/17 shooting from the line.  If they Hawks did anything well, the buried the Blackbirds in three-point land; shooting 45% from beyond the arch.  They nailed 9/20 shots while Brooklyn only managed 3/14 for a resounding 21% shooting percentage.




LIU's home-stand concludes with a visit from Mount St. Mary's next Thursday.  The Blackbirds defeated them 85-76 back on December 3rd when they last travelled to Maryland.






Hey..., if you want to be the top team, you gotta beat the top team.  Go Blackbirds.  Go Brooklyn.!







Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Defending NEC Champs Ready for Conference

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:  Look Out.  Defending Northeast Champs Coming Through.



The Blackbirds ended 2011 with a win over the NJIT Highlanders last Wednesday night at the Wellness Center to cap off a 3-0 home stand.  The victory improved their overall record to 8-6 and makes them a perfect 4-0 at home.



Their third consecutive win was anchored by Julian Boyd who treated the home crowd with his third consecutive double-double of the home stand.   He scored a game high twenty-two points, and pulled down a game leading twelve rebounds in leading the Blackbirds to an 84-74 win.



Jason Brickman was the game's next leading scorer.  The Flatbush guard dropped eighteen points and assisted on six more.  During a team high thirty-six minutes, he limited himself to two turnovers and shot 4-4 from the line.



Jamal Olasewere and Michael Culpo scored fifteen and eleven points respectively, to give LIU four players in double digit scoring.  And together, Jamal Olasewere (10) and Julian Boyd dominated the boards to help LIU out-rebound NJIT 41-29.  Seventeen of their twenty-one rebounds came on the defensive glass.



The victory over NJIT concludes their three game home stand and also concludes their out-of-conference schedule in which they played 6-6 basketball.



They are 2-0 within their conference with earlier wins over Wagner and Mount St. Mary's.  And now, their NEC season starts in earnest.  They will start 2012 and NEC portion of their schedule starting Thursday night against Sacred Heart in Fairfield Connecticut.  The Pioneers are 7-8 this season and fresh off a win against New Hampshire.



There is currently a four way tie for first place in the NEC with Long Island; Robert Morris; Central Connecticut State; and St. Francis (PA); all sporting 2-0 in-conference records.



Sacred Heart and Flatbush are the top two (overall) scoring teams in their conference.  Sacred Heart holds a slim lead over LIU with 1087 points scored.  LIU has 1079 points.  They are they only two teams thus far to have surpassed 1,000 points this season.  In-Conference numbers will now start to take form.  The 2010-2011 Northeast Champions look ready for the challenge of defending their title.



So look out, Blackbirds coming through.

Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Drop a Buck Versus Texas St, NJIT Next

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:  It Was Raining Three's on Ashland Place.

GAME THIRTEEN

We left off with our Flatbush collegiate cagers taking on the Texas State Bobcats in the second of three consecutive games to be played at the Wellness Center.  They hosted Texas State back on December 20th and hit the century mark in points for the first time in thirteen games this season.  In defeating Texas State 100-84, the Blackbirds improved their season record to 7-6; and 3-0 at home.



LIU's Julian Boyd led all scorers with twenty-two points and twelve rebounds.  All twelve of Boyd's rebounds came off the defensive glass.  The Blackbirds and Texas ended the game tied in rebounds.  However the visitor's board work was more evenly played.  Eighteen came on their offensive glass and seventeen on their defensive end gave Texas thirty-five on the night.  LIU matched that, mostly on the defensive end.  They only pulled down seven offensive boards all night. 



That tells me the Blackbirds spent most of the night nailing their initial shot opportunities.  Actually, the truth is they burried three pointers all night long; eleven of them to be exact.



In thirty-two minutes, Jason Brickman had a very productive night at the point passing off on a game high eleven assists and limiting himself to three turnovers.  He added twelve points; shooting 3 out of 4 from the line and 3 for 5 from three-point land.



Michael Culpo was a beast from three point range, nailing five out of six shots for his fifteen point contribution of the night.  He was second high scorer for LIU.  C.J. Garner chipped in with thirteen points and Brandon Thompson added nine off the bench.



Jamal Olasewere's night was limited to eight points in nine minutes.



NEXT GAME:   LIU welcomes the NJIT Highlanders Friday night to the Ashland Place gym.  This game will conclude LIU's out-of-conference schedule for the season.  The Blackbirds are 5-6 outside of their conference.  In-Conference, they boast a 2-0 record.







Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ There's No Place Like...Flatbush

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU Blackbirds:  The Hoops of Flatbush Dial Up Some Home Cooking.


Last Wednesday night didn't go so well.  But it was the end of a long and winding road for the Blackbirds.  In the final game during a stretch in which they started the season playing their first ten of eleven games on the road, their last stop in Virginia to take on the Norfolk State Spartans resulted in a 73-62 defeat.


LIU was held to twenty four points in the first half while Norfolk State scored thirty-five.  It proved to be the difference as both teams scored thirty eight points each in the second half.  Julian Boyd led the Blackbirds in points with thirteen and in rebounds with nine.  But LIU never came up with an answer for Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn.  He was the game high scorer with twenty-two points, while shooting ten of twelve from the line.  He pulled down fourteen rebounds in all; seven on the defensive end, and another seven on the offensive glass. 


The loss dropped the Blackbirds' season record to 5-6; which all things considered, isn't too bad for the kind of road schedule they just endured.


Saturday night however, was a welcome home of sorts and a game with much better results for the locals.  The downtown Brooklyn cagers finally returned to their home court for the first time since December 1st, and for only the second time all season.  Back again in the friendly confines of the Wellness Center,  LIU held on to narrowly defeat the Peacocks of St. Peter's College 82-80, in a game Brooklyn led by more than twenty points in the second half, only to let the Peacocks battle back to within two points with just under a second left in the game.  St. Peter's wound up outscoring the Blackbirds in the second half by a 55-46 margin.  But Brooklyn maintained their final ball possession as time ran out on the Peacocks, who were done in more by the expiration of time that LIU's ability to stop them down the stretch.


A win is a win however, and this win improves LIU's record to six wins against six losses. 


Julian Boyd was big man on campus Saturday night.  He was the game-high scorer with twenty-nine points; shooting fourteen of seventeen from the line.  Julian also dominated this game on both the offensive and defensive glass.  He kept eight offensive possessions alive, and came down with another nine rebounds on the defensive end for a game high total seventeen rebounds.  C.J. Garner tallied six assists and added thirteen points.  But Garner struggled mightily from the field shooting only two of eight.  He shot nine of ten from the line however.  Michael Culpo was third in with eleven points; and hit a trio of three-pointers in eight attempts.


Next on the schedule, the Blackbirds will host two more games at the Ashland Place gym.  Texas State will pay a downtown visit to the Wellness Center on Tuesday, December 20th.  Then on December 30th, NJIT strolls in for the last out of conference game on the Blackbirds' schedule.






Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ The Flatbush Five Win Third Straight

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:  Getting Things Turned Around After 0-3 Start.  The Flatbush Hoops Take Their Three Game Win Streak and a 5-4 Record into Manhattan for an Inner-City Tip-Off Against Columbia.

 

Since their opening night win at the Wellness Center on December 1st against Wagner, the Blackbirds have since been on the road again and won't return to Brooklyn until December 17th.  By then they will have completed a stretch of ten road games in their first eleven scheduled games to start the season.

 

The collegiate Hoops of Flatbush made their first stop in Maryland last Saturday to take-on Mount St. Mary's in their second consecutive in-Conference game.  Julian Boyd was without a doubt the MPIC of this game; the Main Player in Charge..that is.  This was his game for everyone to hang around and watch as he dropped in a game high twenty-two points and pulled down a similarly game high thirteen rebounds; with eight on the defensive end.  LIU's Michael Culpo was the next high man in scoring for Long Island with eighteen buckets to his credit. Third in was Jamal Olasewere with seventeen points.  The Blackbirds finished off St. Mary's 85-76 for their second NEC win in as many in-conference games.

 

Then the off-Flatbush Hoopsters won their third consecutive ball game this past Monday night, narrowly defeating Lafayette 82-80 out in Easton, Pennsylvania.  Three LIU players scored over fifteen points with F-Julian Boyd leading the way with eighteen.  F-Jamal Olasewere and G-C.J. Garner dropped in seventeen and sixteen points respectively.  With eleven points, Arnold Mayorga was the fourth Blackbird to achieve double digit scoring in twenty-two minutes of floor time.

In addition to his 17 points, Jamal Olasewere dominated the boards pulling down a game high fourteen rebounds; twelve coming on the defensive end.  Jason Brickman also had a game high 9 assists to help LIU pull out the very close victory.

Next on their itinerary, the Blackbirds catch a small break with a short venture into Manhattan where they'll take on Columbia this coming Saturday.  They'll have another game in Virginia against Norfolk State after that.  When Brooklyn's collegians finally do return home on Dec.17th, they'll play three in a row at the Ashland Avenue Gym.  And then finally, their NEC schedule finally cranks-up in earnest.

So after losing their first three games of the season, the Blackbirds seemingly have things turned around and are in the midst's of a three game win streak.  They've improved their record to 5-4, but more importantly, they are 2-0 within the conference.

 

Mike.BTB

LIU Blackbirds ~ Net First Pair of Wins

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU BLACKBIRDS:  A Strong Weekend in Connecticut Earns the Flatbush Hoopsters Their First Two Wins of Season.

STRONG START BY JAMAL OLASEWERE POWERS BROOKLYN.

After dropping their first three games to start the season, which include a pair of opening losses to Old Dominion and Penn State in the 2011 HOF Tip-Off Tournament,  the Blackbirds finished the weekend in fine fashion with a pair of wins over Radford on Saturday, and a win over Vermont on Sunday; concluding the Tourney.



In securing their first win of the season Saturday over Radford, Michael Culpo shot 4 of 5 from three point land and led all scorers with 14-points on the night.  Brooklyn actually had five players to score in double digits.  The second team high scorer for LIU was hot Jamal Olasewere who dropped in 12-points and pulled down seven rebounds.  C.J. Garner and Kenny Onyecht added 11-points apiece, while Julian Boyd led the team with 10-rebounds.  All their efforts added up to an 81-59 win over Radford.



After averaging 69-points in their first three losses, the Blackbirds broke the 80-point mark for the second consecutive game, on consecutive nights.  In Sunday's match-up against Vermont, Jamal Olasewere continued his strong start with a game high 18-point night.  Only LIU's Julian Boyd matched that point total with 18-points of his own to go along with a game high 12 rebounds.  LIU's second win ended with an 80-75 final score.



With the Tip-Off Tournament out of the way, the Flatbush Hoops will next play at Iona on November 28th before they finally make their first appearance off-Flatbush at the Wellness Center in a conference game versus Wagner on December 1st.

This Just in...

The New York Knicks' and the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets' players are still unemployed.

The Commissioner Said No Game For Them Tonight!

However, Construction on the NETS new arena in Brooklyn continues on schedule and is due to open for business with the start of the 2012-2013 NBA season.  If both parties want to destroy this season, let them.  But their dispute over how to split billions of dollars better get figured out before tip-off time in Brooklyn!

A Look Back at BARCLAYS CENTER Construction:

NOVEMBER 2011

Flatbush Avenue at Fifth Avenue

Atlantic Avenue View.

LAST YEAR - NOVEMBER 2010

View From Sixth Avenue, Looking at Flatbush Avenue.

November 2010

Get a deal done before this squabble over money interferes with next season and jeopardizes Opening Night in Brooklyn.  That's all I care about.  That leaves the parties plenty of time to hammer out a deal beneficial to both sides before I get twisted over the situation.  To Mr. Stern I would say - Maybe, just maybe, some of these second tier cities the NBA occupies do not deserve major league level franchises.  But in this day and age, contraction isn't an option.  To the players I would say..., very little.  No one comes to Madison Square Garden to watch Jim Dolan's puss.  But the stars of the League also need to understand how they do themselves and their team's a great injustice by demanding to take up huge portions of the salary caps by themselves.

Something has to give.

Mike.BTB