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.

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds Split Pair in Jamaica Classic

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

SATURDAY FINAL

U of Hartford    94

LIU/Brooklyn    96

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: Derek Kellogg Earns First Win As Head Coach.

LIU thundered to a 104-68 homecoming victory over the College of New Rochelle Blue Angels this past Wednesday at the Steinberg Wellness Center, marking their first win of the 2017-2018 regular season, and Derek Kellogg's first victory as Blackbirds head coach.

All five Blackbirds starters scored in double-digits, led by Joel Hernandez' game best 19 points.  Raiquan Clark added 17 points, and tied with Jamall Robinson (off the bench) with a game high five assists.  Eral Penn led all players with 13 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench, while Zach Coleman secured another 11 rebounds and scored ten points.

The Blackbirds were just 11 of 40 (27%) from three-point range.  But otherwise commanded play down low, outscoring CNR 48-30 in the paint, and out-working them for a 56-38 advantage on the boards.  In turn, LIU posted 23 fast-break points against just eight for the Blue Angels.


Flatbush Hoops Split Pair in Jamaica Classic

The team traveled to Montego Bay for the 2017 Jamaican Classic this weekend and will be returning with a mixed bag of goods. 

The Miami(Ohio) Red Hawks edged out the Blackbirds 78-74 in Friday's match.  LIU got off to a poor start, converting on just 8 of 23 (23%) attempts from the field, and only 4 of 14 from beyond the three, resulting in a 21-34 halftime deficit. 

As was the case against Tulane, LIU's second half effort fell just short of its mark.  Zach Coleman's three-pointer with just 0:03 second left got the Blackbirds within two points of MiamiOH.  But after LIU's Jashaun Agosto followed-up with the obligatory foul, Red Hawks Darrian Ringo hit both free throws giving MiamiOH a four point final margin of victory.

Saturday's game against the University of Hartford Hawks was yet another tightly contested affair.  Jashaun Agosto's three put LIU up 86-80 with just 01:30 to go.  An ill advised foul at the 01:16 mark allowed Hartford to close within four.  After trading missed shot attempts, the Hawks scored on a layup at 00:40 to close within two.  LIU's Zach Coleman followed with a missed three-point attempt with 00:16 seconds left.  Hartford secured the rebound, but likewise missed a three-point attempt with 00:03 second left, giving the Blackbirds an 86-84 victory.

With team rebounds, assists, turnovers, and free throws, evenly playing out, LIU's ability to connect from long range proved the difference against the Hawks, connecting on 12 of 23 (53%), versus 8 of 24 (33%) for Hartford.  Raul Frias was a perfect 3/3, while Zach Coleman hit half of his eight attempts from beyond the three.

Although the Blackbirds lost the battle in the paint 30-38, their bench outscored Hartford's by a 19-8 spread.  Raiquan Clark led the Blackbirds with 21 points and eight rebounds.

• LIU was outscored by a slim 160-162 aggregate score through two games of the Jamaica Classic.

Goodbye beautiful Jamaica!  The team now heads back north into New England, where they'll take on the University of Massachusetts/Lowell River Hawks, then face Brown University in Providence, R.I.

The University of Hartford will visit the Steinberg Wellness Center on Nov. 30 for a return match against the Blackbirds.