LIU’s Raiquan Clark receives All-District honor

Brooklyn program's all-time leading scorer hailed by NABC

March 24, 2020 John Torenli, Sports Editor

Raiquan Clark was named to the coveted NABC All-District Team on Monday after becoming LIU's all-time leading scorer this past season. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

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Raiquan Clark went from walk-on, to redshirt, to the most prolific scorer in the history of the Long Island University men’s basketball program.

The six-foot-six forward helped the Sharks, then known as Brooklyn’s Blackbirds, capture the Northeast Conference crown as a sophomore, led LIU to within two wins of capturing that title again this year and became just the seventh player in NEC history to reach 2,000 career points.

“He probably had more usage than any player in the country this year,” noted Sharks Head Coach Derek Kellogg after Clark wrapped up his collegiate career following LIU’s 86-66 loss to top-seeded Robert Morris in the semifinal round of the NEC Tournament earlier this month.

“I’m proud of the way he played this year, thought he put us on his back a bunch,” Kellogg added.

Though he won’t be able to add to his record total of 2,030 points with the Sharks, Clark keeps receiving honors for his hardwood heroics.

On Monday, the New Haven, Connecticut native was named first team All-District by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, one of only five players to be honored as such from the NEC.

Clark, who earned the distinction for a second straight year, was joined on the District 15 first team by Keith Braxton and NEC Player of the Year Isaiah Blackmon of St. Francis University (Pa.), Sacred Heart’s EJ Anosike and Merrimack’s Juvaris Hayes.

A two-time first team All-NEC selection, Clark led the league in scoring this past season with 19.9 points per game, ranking 29th overall in the nation.

He scored in double digits for 31 straight contests, including eight games of 20-plus points, and posted seven double-doubles.

Clark’s size and agility made him a perfect fit for Kellogg’s fast-paced, up-and-down style, giving the former non-scholarship performer an ideal setting to show off his skills at Downtown’s Steinberg Wellness Center.

And Clark proved a tireless worker, logging over 35 minutes per game as a senior.

He made history on the Brooklyn campus on Feb. 8, scoring 20 points in a thrilling 67-64 overtime victory over visiting Merrimack, including a driving layup early in the extra session that pushed him past former LIU legend Jamal Olasawere with his 1,874th career point.

Clark went on to eclipse the 2,000-point mark in the regular-season finale at Sacred Heart on Feb. 29 and added 19 points in LIU’s first-round NEC triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson on March 4.

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CUNYAC Player of the Year Chanel Jemmott keeps racking up the honors after leading Brooklyn College to the Division III NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three years. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn College Athletics

Another local hoopster racking up honors over the past several weeks is Brooklyn College junior forward Chanel Jemmott.

The Brooklyn native and graduate of Leon M. Goldstein High School spearheaded the Lady Bulldogs to an undefeated run through the CUNYAC schedule and into the Division III NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.

“We had a lot of first-year players this year and winning the conference championship to play in the NCAA Tournament is a great accomplishment,” said Jemmott after the Bulldogs were knocked off by Bowdoin College in the opening round of the NCAAs.

Jemmott, who averaged team highs of 15.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest, was named CUNYAC Player of the Year.

She also received honorable mention from the All-ECAC and WBCA squads while earning second-team status on the D3Hoops.com All-Atlantic Second Team.

Jemmott will be back with the Bulldogs next year chasing a third CUNYAC title and trip to the NCAAs.

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LIU senior Tyler Karpinecz and freshman Brittany Lucci were honored Monday for helping the Sharks to a third-place finish in bowling in the Northeast Conference this year.

Karpinecz was named first team All-NEC, while Lucci was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team.

The annual honors, voted on by the league’s coaches, are the first for both Sharks.

Karpinecz became the first LIU bowler to earn first team honors since the 2015 season.

After spending most of the regular season and NEC play in the anchor position for LIU, Karpinecz finished with the second-highest traditional average in NEC play in the conference (207.3).

She also boasted the fourth highest overall average of those in NEC play at 192.4. The Woodbridge, N.J., native finished sixth in the conference in both makeable spares (84 percent) and filled frames (85.2 percent).

Lucci, who earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors in October, averaged 169.8 for 108 NEC frames, including an 80.6 single pin spare percentage.