LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Open Conference Schedule With Mixed Results

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Foiled by Sacred Heart, Flatbush bows to Pioneers in Northeast Conference opener. 

NEC OPENER

LIU Brooklyn  75

SHU Pioneers  79

Raiquan Clark leads all players with 38-minutes and 28-points scored; Julian Batts leads all players with ten rebounds; even Jashaun Agosto leads the floor with seven assists; albeit all in a losing effort.  SHU's three-point shooting and 19-points from the charity line would ultimately prove the difference in this game.  LIU falls behind by fifteen midway through the first session, and trails by eighteen with five minutes left, before reducing their deficit to eight by halftime.  The Blackbirds finally knot things up in the second session on Raiquain Clark's 3-pointer at the 13:49 mark, then build a five point lead on another 3-pointer by Raul Frias with 11:01 remaining.  Sacred Heart would regroup.  In the meantime, a layup by Julian Batts would keep LIU staked to a one point lead with just 1:25 left on the clock.  But it's the Pioneers who would eventually close out the game on a 4-0 run to secure victory by a 79-75 final.

SATURDAY FINAL

LIU Blackbirds   79

SHU Pioneers     70

Brooklyn closes out their three game road trip at Rhode Island, with a 79-70 victory over the Bryant University Bulldogs on Saturday.  Julian Batts leads all scorers with an even 20-points, with Raiquan Clark adding 19-points, four boards, and a team leading three blocks.  Ty Flowers notches a double-double with ten points and a game high 12 rebounds.  The Bulldogs finish with five players scoring in double-digits, but as a team only shoot (23/58) 39.7% from the field.  Flatbush in turn oppresses Bryant with 10/23 from beyond the arc, and 21-points from the line.

The victory is Brooklyn's first against a conference opponent, and brings their overall record back up to par, including a 5-5 mark on the road.  They return home to the Ashland Place gym on Jan. 10 where they'll host the Red Flash of Saint Francis University.


NEC NOTES

• Sacred Heart and Robert Morris lead the pack early on with 2-0 records.  Central Connecticut and Mount St. Mary's bookend the conference with 0-2 records.  The rest of the field is 1-1, to date.  St. Francis/Brooklyn leads with nine overall victories, and are so far undefeated (5-0) at home.  LIU Brooklyn is the only team playing at least .500 on the road.

LIU Blackbirds: Defending NEC Champs Open Season With Victory

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

OPENING NIGHT

FINAL

New Rochelle    76

LIU Brooklyn  109

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Defending NEC Champs Cruise to Season Opening Victory Over College of New Rochelle.

Behind Raiquan Clark's game-high 22-points, the defending NEC champion Blackbirds open the 2018-2019 regular season with a resounding 109-76 victory over the CNR Blue Angels Tuesday evening at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

LIU senior Raiquan Clark finishes with nine boards and five assists while clocking a team high 31-minutes.  However, big man in Flatbush winds up being forward Ty Flowers (a redshirt sophomore coming to LIU from UMass) who leads the floor with six assists, and posts a double-double with ten boards and 21-points.  Raul Frias adds nine boards and 19-points off the bench, as the Blackbirds feature five players in double-digit scoring.

The Blackbirds take a 59-40 lead into halftime en route to a 33-point margin of victory.  They shoot 51.9% from the field, and 32.4% from three-point range.  New Rochelle struggles shooting 31% from the field.  LIU also outscores CNR 48-26 in the battle of the benches, and outworks them 58-45 on the boards.

Derek Kellogg enters his second season as head coach at LIU.  His first season went very well, leading the Blackbirds to an 18-17 overall record, and a 10-8 conference finish.  In the conference tourney, they dispatch St. Francis College of Brooklyn and Fairleigh Dickinson University, then overcome favored Wagner to capture last season's NEC title.

The Blackbirds pick up where they left off last season.  Tuesday night's victory is their fourth straight at the Wellness Center.  LIU posted a 12-4 home record last season, winning their final two regular season home games, then their first round conference match-up against FDU at Brooklyn. 

LIU/Brooklyn was just 5-11 last season playing away from home, and 8-9 in non-conference games.

Next on the docket, the Blackbirds host Brown University on Friday.  These teams last met last year on Nov. 25, at Providence, where Brown prevails by a 94-86 margin of victory over LIU.