Brooklyn Boro

Blackbirds break through in Maine

LIU-Brooklyn Uses Big Second Half to Rally for First Win

December 10, 2014 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Freshman point guard Elvar Fridriksson helped LIU-Brooklyn grab its first win of the season Tuesday night in Bangor, Maine. Photo courtesy of LIU-Brooklyn Athletics
Share this:

Down by four points at the half and facing the grim prospect of a seventh straight loss to open the season, the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds discovered that the best way to get their struggling offense on track was to tighten up their defense.

“The second half to start the half we did a better job defensively,” LIU-Brooklyn head coach Jack Perri told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday night, moments after his Blackbirds had rallied for their first win of the year, an 83-70 triumph over the University of Maine in front of 997 fans at the Cross Insurance Center.  

“Offensively, I thought we moved the ball well,” Perri added. “We shot the lights out.”

Freshman point guard Elvar Fridriksson made all but one of his six field-goal attempts en route to a career-best 19 points to go with seven assists as LIU (1-6) shot a blistering 61 percent over the final 20 minutes to top the Black Bears (1-7).

The Blackbirds had been held to 30 points on 10-of-26 shooting in the first half.

“Their [defensive] pressure kind of opened things up for us and we were able to get some flow off of that,” Perri noted. “We kept running our entries pretty well and got some good looks off those, too.”

The biggest entry LIU made was into the win column, where it hadn’t resided since an 80-75 victory at Sacred Heart on Feb. 25.

Senior Landon Atterberry scored 16 points and sophomore Iverson Fleming added all 11 of his during the Blackbirds’ second-half surge as Perri’s crew ended an eight-game slide dating to last season.

LIU, which will host current NCAA “Cinderella” NJIT in Downtown Brooklyn on Sunday, made all seven of its 3-pointer attempts in the second half, including back-to-back treys from senior Gerrell Martin and Fleming that gave the Blackbirds a 53-42 advantage in the early stages of the second half.

Fridriksson, who along with fellow freshman Martin Hermannsson forms the Blackbirds’ new-look Icelandic backcourt, put the Black Bears away with a steal and driving layup that made it 66-49 with just over nine minutes remaining.

 ***

The Terriers of St. Francis Brooklyn had a golden opportunity to knock NJIT off its perch Tuesday night in Newark, N.J., but junior guard Tyreek Jewell was a little long on his potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer as the history-making Highlanders held on for a 68-66 triumph just three days after stunning nationally ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Senior guard Brent Jones scored 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting and paced the Terriers’ defense with four steals while Jewell finished with a season-best 14 points for St. Francis, which fell to 2-6 with its first loss in three games.

SFC, which is the NEC’s preseason favorite to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, will kick off a three-game homestand Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against visiting Mount Saint Vincent.

It will be the Terriers’ first game at the Pope Center since a 74-71 loss to Army on Nov. 19.

***

Junior swingman Egzon Gjonbalaj had 16 points, 15 rebounds, five steals and three assists Tuesday night as the Brooklyn College Bulldogs extended their winning streak to nine games with an 80-61 rout of borough rival Medgar Evers.

Junior Jamel Gist scored a team-high 17 points for the Bulldogs (9-1, 2-0 CUNYAC), who have not lost since a season-opening 95-88 overtime setback at William Patterson University on Nov. 15.

The red-hot Bulldogs will be back on the hardwood Friday night against visiting Lehman College at BC’s West Quad Center. 

***

The BC women stomped Medgar Evers earlier Tuesday evening, rolling to an 80-22 victory behind game highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds by Nacirena Mann.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in league play entering Friday’s showdown with CUNYAC rival Lehman.

***

The St. Francis women squandered a nine-point halftime advantage Tuesday night in West Point, N.Y., suffering a 61-55 loss to Army that dropped them to 3-6 on the season.

Senior Sarah Benedetti scored a team-high 17 points and made some history with her 219th career 3-pointer to establish a new Terriers’ record, but SFC was unable to stem the tide of a furious comeback by the Black Knights, who were spearheaded by Kelsey Minato’s game-high 32 points.

The Terriers, who suffered their second consecutive defeat despite drilling a season-high 11 3-pointers, will return to action Dec. 17 against visiting Vermont at the Pope Center.

***

Senior Letava Whippy scored 12 points but LIU-Brooklyn was unable to get much else in a 54-45 road loss to Columbia on Sunday.

The Blackbirds (0-6) will take their seventh shot at their first win of the season Thursday night at NJIT.

***

Though they felt their chances were as good as they’ve ever been to knock off a nationally ranked opponent in the NCAA Tournament, the three-time defending Northeast Conference champion Blackbirds of LIU suffered another first-round exit last weekend with a straight-set defeat at No. 12 UCLA.

The Blackbirds (25-7) were highly competitive in the opening stanza before falling 25-23 to the high-powered Bruins, who rolled to triumphs of 25-19 and 25-18 to close out LIU’s ninth league title-winning campaign in the past 11 years.

Playing her last match as a Blackbird, three-time NEC Player of the Year Annika Foit had nine kills and nine digs and junior Tamara Ignjic paced the LIU attack with 10 kills.

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment