LIU Blackbirds: Flatbush is Par for the Court

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

FOUR GAME HOME STAND

I - SFU 74; LIU 67

II - LIU 80; RMU 73

III - Fairleigh Dickinson

IV - St. Francis College(BK) 

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds Hand Robert Morris Colonials First In-Conference Defeat.

Shout out to St. Francis of Brooklyn whose ten overall victories at the moment are most in the NEC.  With eight victories, the LIU Blackbirds are tied for second most overall alongside Wagner, Robert Morris, and Central Connecticut.

Four games into Northeastern Conference play Wagner, Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart, lead the pack with respective 3-1 records.  Next in (and tied with St. Francis/BK, Bryant, Central Connecticut, and St. Francis/PA) are the Blackbirds with a 2-2 mark.  Fairleigh Dickinson is 1-3, while Mt. Saint Mary's has yet to win in conference.

The kids of Flatbush are alright ... par is not a bad place to be.  The Blackbirds are 8-8 overall, with a 3-3 record at home, and 4-4 mark on the road.  Presently in the midst of a four game home stand, LIU lost in their return to the Wellness Center against St. Francis University, but more recently turned away Robert Morris this past Saturday.  Raiquan Clark led all scorers with 24-points, Jashaun Agosto added 21-points with a game-high nine assists, and Ty Flowers scored 16-points with a game-high eight rebounds, en route to Brooklyn's 80-73 victory over the Colonials.

Next up is Fairleigh Dickinson this coming Saturday.  The Blackbirds then close out this home stand next Monday against next door neighbor St. Francis/BK.

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/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Straight Out of Flatbush

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Go West, Young Men!

SUNDAY

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds

vs.

University of San Francisco Dons

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Flatbush Takes Their Game to San Francisco, California, Where a Clash of Undefeated Teams Awaits.

The hiring of Derek Kellogg continues paying handsome dividends.  In his first season as head coach at Brooklyn, he leads LIU to a 10-8 conference record, and 18-17 record overall.  However, the Blackbirds save their best for last, unending tourney favorites to capture last year's NEC championship, and thus a return to trip to March Madness.  This season to date, the Blackbirds are off to a 3-0 start after winning their first two games at home, and their most recent first game on the road.

Next stop, California.

As part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic, Flatbush opens with a match against the U of San Francisco Dons on Sunday.  Following games against Wisconsin and NJIT, the Blackbirds will fly out to Belfast, Ireland.

Sunday's match-up features a clash of undefeated teams.  Both the Blackbirds and Dons enter Sunday with identical 3-0 records.  Through three games, the Dons are averaging 85.6 ppg, while allowing a stingy 48.6 ppg, for an impressive plus-37 point differential.  Although the Blackbirds are averaging 93.6 ppg on offense, they've been much more generous on defense allowing 81.3 ppg, for a plus-12 point differential.

Defending NEC Champs Open Season With Victory

Art of the Two-Point Victory

Julian Batts Leads LIU Over Brown; Blackbirds Win Second Straight

Brown       81

Brooklyn  83

FINAL

Last Friday, the Blackbirds lead Brown 43-40 at halftime, but find themselves trailing by eleven in the second session with under six minutes left to play.  Ignited by a Julian Batts' three-pointer at the 5:24 mark, Brooklyn embarks on a 16-4 run.  Batts punctuates LIU's comeback with a short range jumper in the paint (and one), giving the Blackbirds an 81-79 lead with 1:08 to go.  The Bears tie with 0:46 left.  LIU then misses a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, but secure the rebound and earn a whistle.  Jashaun Agosto converts both free throw attempts giving the Blackbirds an 83-81 margin of victory.  Lulian Batts leads all players with 26-points.

Raiquan Clark Leads Brooklyn to Third Straight Victory

Brooklyn  89

Fairfield   87

FINAL

Flatbush travels to Connecticut this past Tuesday where they take on Fairfield University in their first road game of the season.  The Blackbirds jump out to a 47-43 halftime lead over the Stags, then expand their margin in the second half by as many as thirteen points.  With just over five minutes remaining, LIU still leads by nine.  But the Stags nail a three at the 2:35 mark, then convert (and one) off an LIU turnover to take a one point lead.  Raiquan Clark's three-pointer gives LIU an 87-85 lead with 0:37 remaining, but Fairfield ties at the 0:24 mark.  On the ensuing possession, LIU drains the clock before Raiquan Clark connects on the final two of his twenty second-half points.  Clark finishes with a game high 33-points.  In the meantime, Ty Flowers keeps LIU moving forward with 21 first-half points.

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.